A Month In the House of Death
by RapozaTeRa
Summary: Maka and Soul's first month of summer had been entirely uneventful, besides the odd sparring match... that is, until their witchlike housemate, Blair, creates a concoction that forces them out of their apartment. Soul's arrangements are taken care of, leaving Maka to stay in Shinigami's manor... with Kidd and Maka being its only inhabitants for an entire month.
1. Where do I stay?

**Thank you for reading the first chapter of "The House of Death" series. I wrote this series in the hopes of clearing up the bad name of Kidd x Maka(I like to refer to them as _KiMa_) fanfics. Its so hard to find one with a solid storyline and proper grammar, SOOOO, if you like my series, please let me know in the reviews. If you don't, say something so I can make my series better. Anyway, for the pleasure of my readers, I've taken the liberty of posting not one, but ****_three _****chapters upon the day of release. If I get lots of love from you all.**

**Author's Notes: Rated T for teen because of some language.**

**I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, THE SERIES, ANIME, OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.** I only own the storyline of this fanfic.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**A Month in the House of Death**

_by RapozaTeRa(formerly Samurai Tsundere)_

**Chapter One:**

**Where do I stay?**

* * *

**DAY 1**

"More ice cream Maka?" Kidd asked with warm eyes.

"No, Its cool Kidd." I said, smiling back.

"Are you sure?" He asked with a tilt of his head. "You _are_ my guest. I want to make sure that everything suits your needs."

I shook my head, tilting back a bit further on the young shinigami's couch. I crossed my legs, trying to get a bit more comfortable despite my slightly awkward situation – and by slightly, I mean _very_. I sat in my seat wondering how I'd gotten myself in the position I was in – how I'd ended up in Kidd's house, and how I'd be able to handle staying an entire month here. I watched as Death the Kidd did his best to make me comfortable, jumping up here and there to fluff the pillows behind me as we watched a movie on his couch, re-arranging them in the process to be completely symmetrical. It was sweet how worried he was about me, trying his best to make me comfortable. He really didn't have to be as nice as he was right now. It wasn't his fault that I was here, either, but he was trying his hardest to make the best of it.

Now that I think about it, the only _real _person at fault here was that feline floozy Blair.

* * *

It was a relatively NORMAL day: Soul and I on the couch in our small appartment, watching TV – NORMAL – Me Maka-chopping him after he made a snide comment about my breasts – NORMAL – Blair bouncing into the room, suffocating Soul in her bosom – NORMAL – still annoying, but NORMAL... but what happened next, neither of us were expecting.

"Hiii guuuuys~" Blair mewed happily, after releasing Soul from his busty prison. "Blair has a surprise for her favorite weapon-meister pair~!

"Of COURSE you do..." I mumbled angrily. "because grabbing my weapon and shoving him into that void on your chest just isn't surprising enough anymore..."

Blair giggled deviously. "Of COURSE not Maka-chan... unless Soul-kun doesn't mind..." She said, gazing at the albino teen passed out a few feet away from us, in a pool of his own blood, which was still pouring out of his nose.

"I don't think he's in the place to make any decisions right now," I said, thumbing at my unconscious weapon. "just show us your 'surprise' so I can get back to watching the Discovery channel."

"Ooookey doke! Pum-pum-pumpkin!" Blair purred, making a spray-bottle full of glowing green liquid appear in her hand. "Tadaaaah!"

"What IS that?" a now awake Soul inquired. "It looks like ghost pee..."

"Noooo silly, its my new super cleaning brew!" She gushed happily. "You just spray it wherever there's filth, and it disappears instantly!"

"You're going to clean our house with... with _ghost pee?_" Soul asked, a bit disgusted.

"Have you tested it out...?" I inquired quizzically, ignoring Soul's stupid question.

"Nya~ of _course _I have! Take a look," She said, bouncing into our small kitchen, Soul and I in tow, before spraying a steadily growing pile of dirty dishes.

"...Didn't you say you cleaned those dishes an hour ago...?" I asked accusingly. I'd done the dishes for two whole weeks, and it was _Soul's turn_ now.

"Aaah.." Soul said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. His eyes soon grew to the size of dinner plates as he looked back at Blair. "Woah..."

"What, has one of Blair's boobs 'accidentally' fallen out of her shirt again?" I asked, turning my head to see what had gotten such a reaction from my partner. Soon my eyes were mimicking his.

"Wow..." I breathed. It was subtle, at first, but I was sure that that the brew was having an effect as I watched the dirt on the dishes slowly disappear.

"Cool, nya~?" Blair inquired, grinning at our faces. She then proceeded to bounce around the house, spraying anything and everything in sight. I was surprised at just how dirty the stucco walls of our apartment were, as they slowly shifted from crème to an off-white color. I was also amazed (and slightly disgusted)how our brown carpet grew a shade lighter. I made a mental note to speak with our apartment manager about the previous condition of our apartment.

"This is _amazing _Blair," I whispered, gazing around at our spotless living space. "did you develop this all by yourself?"

"Of course! Everyone seems to think that just because Blair is really cute and has humungous boobs that she isn't smart," the cat-eared woman said, pouting. "but Blair has a stroke of genius every once in a while."

"Well, as amazing as this is, I'm bushed. I'm going to bed... You can spray our rooms in the morning, but for right now I need so sleep in mine." Soul said. He had the right idea too – it was twelve in the morning, and though it was summer vacation, Shinigami-sama still had us doing missions. Death knows when the next one would be(literally), so we needed our sleep.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to hit the sack too, Blair. We'll talk about getting a patent on that amazing brew of yours in the morning. You've got a real money maker there!" I said with a smile, making the older woman blush before retiring to my room. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and went to bed.

* * *

Later that night, I awoke to a faint hissing. My eyes fluttered open for a moment, wondering if Soul had _actually_ gotten up ahead of me to make me some eggs, before I turned over to check the time on my alarm clock and noticed that it was three in the morning. I slowly got up from my bed, and walked down the hall, intent on finding the source of the mysterious sound. Soul's door opened just as I passed it, each of us scaring the other.

"Maka?" He said, drowsily. "That isn't you making eggs in there?"

"Real funny Soul. Why would I be making _you _eggs at three in the morning?"

"Woah woah, I think the _real _question here is why aren't _you _in the kitchen?" He said, grinning at his own sexist joke.

He deserved that Maka-chop.

"_Damn,_ take a friggin' _joke,_ girl!" He whined.

After the swelling on Soul's head went down and I whipped my now bloody textbook clean, he and I walked into the living room. What I saw blew my mind, and apparently Soul's too, because we both shared a gasp.

"_What the hell..."_ Soul mumbled, taking in the scene before him.

The easiest way to describe what I saw: our apartment was melting.

Blair's "brew" must have had a negative reaction on whatever it touched, because everything she'd sprayed was slowly deteriorating. Our coffee table was slowly melting in half, there were chunks taken out of our walls, and the carped had large patches missing from it, and more were forming. The darkness of our house caused it to resemble something close to a haunted house.

"_BLAIR!_" I yelled. "WHERE THE _HELL _ARE YOU?" I screamed. To our surprise, the busty witch was nowhere in sight.

"Maka," Soul said solemnly, snapping me out of my frantic search for our cat. "grab some clothes and important items. We can't stay here. When you're done, we can alert the neighbors. Who knows how far that stuff'll melt through our walls..."

I gave a silent nod, reminding him in turn that Blair had sprayed the floor too, and to tread lightly.

I ran back to my room, grabbing everything of importance – my cell phone, my laptop, clothes, toothpaste and a toothbrush, underwear...

Soul and I met up at the front door, him holding a duffle bag, and I, a backpack and my computer bag, all bearing a small shinigami skull. Soul must've noticed my computer bag, because he ran back to his room to grab his Xbox and his guitar. As I waited for him in the living room, I heard a scream and a bump. Soon there was a hand sticking out of our now very thin wall.

"Sorry," Soul called "I tripped, and... well... come help me out of here already!"

Oh yeah. We needed to get out of there FAST.

* * *

As soon as Soul and I left the house, we warned our next-door neighbors and the neighbors below us of the impending danger. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were NOT happy with being woken up at what was now four in the morning, but changed their moods quickly when they heard that their own ceiling could collapse on them.

Soon, the three families along with Soul and I were making the proper calls to decide where we'd all be staying. Thank Shinigami they all knew how Blair could get, and didn't blame Soul and I in the least(though they were still pretty ticked off at the devious cat.). It was also very fortunate that the DWMA owned the complex(a well known fact, seeing as how most of the students that didn't have their own homes for whatever reason stayed there), and that we wouldn't have to compensate for any of the damage.

Soul and I rode to the school on his bike to report what had happened to Shinigami-sama. He was more than understanding, also knowing of Blair's infamous experimenting habits. He even used his giant mirror to call the rest of the gang to the Death Room to discuss where they'd be staying. I _begged _Shinigami-sama not to call my idiot Papa, explaining how a week with him would be a living hell. He complied.

Soon, Death the Kidd arrived in skull covered pajamas, along with Liz and Patty, Liz in scarlet silk pajamas and Patty in a giraffe print tank top and shorts. Tsubaki followed soon afterwards in a yellow robe, long green pants and slippers, oddly enough not accompanied by her boisterous meister. When everyone inquired on Black*Star's absence, Tsubaki quickly explained how "The Man Who Would Surpass God" needed his sleep.

"Oookey dookey! Sorry to call you all out so late, but we have a _bit _of a pickle!" Shinigami-sama said perkily, before explaining Soul and I's situation. We'd need to stay_somewhere_ for a month while our apartment got renovations.

Soul whipped out his cell phone after explaining how he could possibly stay with his grandmother, so the only matter to attend to was where I'd be staying.

I couldn't go with Soul, as he explained that things would be cramped with how many cousins would be at his grandmother's house that stayed there during the summer, and for the sake of my comfort, didn't want me to come. Tsubaki offered, but I politely declined. She understood completely. The hyperactive ninja _could_ be very hard to be around, let alone stay with for a whole month. That left Kidd, Liz and Patty, who would never pass up the offer of helping their friend. Lord Death was completely fine with this.

"We would be _happy_ to have you in our humble abode Maka-chan!" He said in his animated voice. "Of course _I _won't be there, but Kidd, Liz and Patty will take good care of you!"

"Uh, Shinigami-sama," Liz piped up. "Patty and I will be going to a family reunion in Hawaii, and we'll be leaving tomorrow. Is it okay if it's just Kidd and Maka?"

"No problemo!" Lord Death suddenly got a devious look in his eyes – something you won't see very often. " Just don't get _too_ frisky kids!" He said with a wink.

"_What?_" Kidd and I said together, soliciting laughs from the whole group. His face was as red as mine when I checked for his reaction.

"Calm down you two, take a joke!" Soul said in-between laughs. "And besides, who would want to try something on a flat-chested girl like – " Suddenly Soul's eyes got wide as I pulled out a thick encyclopedia I'd brought with me from my backpack.

"MAKA CHOP!" I yelled, swinging the hard leather spine down on my partner's head. Everyone sweat dropped before the bump on Soul's head began to swell again.

* * *

"Here we are," Kidd said proudly, gazing up at his _perfectly _symmetrical house. "Home sweet home."

I had been to Kidd's mansion plenty of times for parties, but it looked even more amazing(and creepy) at night. It was very similar to DWMA. The base of the house was in the shape of a skull, as were the left and right wings of the mansion. There were large red cones sticking out between each wing, and humungous candles atop those.

That night I slept in Liz and Patty's room. There was no time for giggling and gossiping – all of us really just wanted to get to bed. Suddenly having to wake up in the middle of the night really tuckered us out, and to top it off, Liz and Patty had a flight to catch in the morning,

The next day, when Soul and I said our goodbyes, and he and his grandmother rode off in their identical motorcycles(go figure – the apple doesn't fall far from the tree), Kidd and I helped Liz and Patty carry what seemed like a million suit cases into the back of the shuttle Kidd had called for them, no doubt many of them carrying some sort of make-up or giraffe related items. When were all saying our final goodbyes, Liz stopped suddenly.

"Don't play _too _rough with 'em Maka." She whispered in my ear with a wink. Thank goodness Kidd didn't notice my burning face and dropped jaw, as he was waving goodbye to the now receding shuttle.

Once the shuttle was out of sight and the burning in my face resided, Kidd and I sat there for a moment on the side of the road, the hot summer sun on our skin, not knowing what to do. Kidd was like a brother to me, but we'd never really done anything where there was just the _two _of us.

"Uhh... sooo... wanna watch a movie?" Kidd asked a few seconds later.

* * *

So here I am, on Kidd's couch, watching him nearly break his neck over trying to get me a perfectly _symmetrical_ scoop of ice cream, insisting that he did not want "unsymmetrical filth" to enter his guest's mouth. He then began to cry over how terrible of a host he was, convulsing and striking weird poses on the floor. Like I said, my heart went out to the guy. He asked _me _what movie _I _wanted to see, and then made me sit and relax as he set everything up for us. Suddenly I had an idea.

"Kidd, I'm gonna go get something from the kitchen, I'll be right back." I said softly. He didn't even notice what I had said, as he was too busy trying to rip his hair out in the corner, still crying, and mumbling something about his "inability to be a symmetrical host".

I just ignored him, completely used to his symmetrical tendencies and got up and went down to Kidd's huge kitchen, and searched around for a knife. When I found the utensils drawer, I picked out a small knife, making sure to re-arrange the ones I'd left into a symmetrical pattern so Kidd wouldn't have an OCD attack later, and pulled an orange out of the fridge. I then came back upstairs to the Rec Room where Kidd, who hadn't even noticed I was gone, had gone back to measuring my scoop of ice cream with a ruler, getting frustrated at how it kept melting while he was doing so, throwing off his symmetry in the process.

"Here," I said, cutting the orange in half, trying my best to cut the fruit _exactly_ down the middle. "We can eat this. Its healthier anyway."

Kidd, who had obviously caught on to what I had done, smiled warmly.

"Thanks Maka."

We both took a half of the orange and enjoyed our movie in peace. As we watched and laughed at _Men in Black_(1)_, _I realized with a smile that this wouldn't be such a bad week after all.

* * *

**(1) ****_Men in Black_****: A blockbuster staring Will Smith as a secret agent, once a regular guy, who works at a secret organization who's goal is to deport illegal aliens(actual aliens), and eradicate dangerous ones. A very good movie. Definetly recommended.**

**Next chapter:**

**Kidd and Maka's first night on there own went great, but why does he feel so uneasy?**

**Give me reviews... or I'll take your soul.**


	2. Self Conscious

**Okey-dokey, here's the second chapter of your promised three-chapter release bundle. I hope you enjoy, and LEAVE REVIEWS.**

**A/N: I guess I'll rate this chapter T for teen, just for safety purposes(even thought I don't think this chap contains any bad language.**

**I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, THE ANIME OR THE MANGA. **I do own the storyline of this fanfic, however.

**ENJOY!  
**

* * *

**A Month in the House of Death**

_by TapozaTeRa(formerly Samurai Tsundere)_

**Chapter Two:**

**Self Concious**

* * *

**DAY 2**

I awoke the next morning with the events of last night flooding my mind. Maka and I's first evening on our own had been very fun. She laughed at Will Smith's antics, and I found the alien's symmetry refreshing. Through the confusion of limbs, I found that almost all of the aliens with tentacles had the same number of tentacles on their right side as their left.

But why did I get the feeling that something was off?

My guest was laughing, and smiling, neither of us argued, and the house stayed symmetrical – most likely due to Maka knowing my character, and not purposely _tilting_ and_shifting_ my items only millimeters out of their places like Black*Star and Soul do for laughs when they come over. In a nutshell, last night would have been what a normal person would perceive as "perfect"... If that was the case, then why was I so _uneasy?_

_WAIT... _I thought, quickly shooting into a sitting position. _The orange._

When Maka saw me struggle with that damned unsymmetrical ice cream(curse you Willy Wonka... you promised to come up with ice cream that wouldn't _melt!_), she went downstairs and came back up with an orange, knowing full well that it would be easier to fit my symmetrical needs. She even did her best to cut the orange straight down the middle(she was a little off, but it's the thought that counts.). Before we'd settled down to watch the movie, however, she'd looked... uncomfortable. I'd done my best to fluff her pillows, offer her snacks – everything a good host should... but when I did these things, she seemed to get even _MORE _uncomfortable, but when she came back upstairs with that orange, the look in her eyes was strange... At first I wasn't quite sure what was wrong, and thought that I was seeing things, but when she looked up again after cutting the orange, I noticed the _pity_ in her eyes. Why would she pity me? Had I done something wrong...? Or maybe...

My _OCD_... _that _was the problem!

Why else would she seem so uncomfortable when I had to re-align the furniture before she entered the room, or while I made her pillows symmetrical for her before she sat down? She seemed fine when we got in the house...

_Whatever_. I thought to myself as I got out of bed, walking towards my bathroom to get dressed. _Maybe I'm overreacting. Maka _knows_ me. She's never been annoyed at my mannerisms before..._

_or has she...? Hmm... just to be safe..._ I thought to myself, my mind formulating a plan as I walked down to the kitchen.

* * *

I awoke to the sound of frying eggs again. I panicked for a few seconds, remembering the events from two nights ago, but soon remembered where I was and regained my composure. I could actually _smell_ the scent of eggs wafting from downstairs.

I arrived in the kitchen to find Kidd making breakfast – a _big _breakfast. Bacon, eggs, hash browns, and just about every item you could find on a Denny's menu was strewn across the kitchen counters. He was just finishing flipping some pancakes and was now sliding them onto some plates. He sensed my presence and turned around.

"'Morning," He said with a warm smile. "I made breakfast."

"I can see that," I said with a grin. "thanks."

"Grab a plate. I've just about finished all of the dishes. Take as much as you like." He said in his usual calm manner, taking his own plate and stacking a items on before making his way to the small table in the breakfast nook.

"Thanks!" I said, grabbing my plate. It was extremely nice of Kidd to make an entire breakfast(even though the proportions were off entirely and I'm a bit worried as to how we're going to finish all of this food.). I gave him a sheepish smile before grabbing the book I'd brought into the kitchen with me off the counter and took my seat at the kitchen's bar to read while I ate. It took me a while to really get into the book, however. I still couldn't get over how kind Kidd was being to me. It annoyed me that I couldn't think of a way to pay him back, and probably wouldn't. After I caught myself for the third time reading the same line over and over again, I heard a crash from the dining room.

"YOUR GOD HAS ARRIVED!"

Suddenly I heard a growl from the breakfast nook.

"_Black*Star..."_ Kidd groaned.

"C'mon Black*Star, calm down! We're in _someone else's house!_" Begged a feminine voice.

"_NO! _A big star like me should be in the highest point in the house! I need to be in a spot where _all _of my followers can see me!" Black*Star shouted.

I heard the sound of a stool sliding across the floor just as I got out of my own seat. Kidd seemed really ticked off, no doubt thinking about all of the damage Black*Star was doing to his house. His talk about being in "the highest point in the house" didn't help either.

It wasn't until we reached the dining room and looked around when we noticed what the ADHD ninja was talking about. I facepalmed at the scene before me.

Black*Star was swinging from the eloquent chandelier about thirty feet high above the dining room table, lauging like a mad man, as an embarrassed and panicked Tsubaki stood by below.

"What the hell are you _doing_ Black*Star? GET DOWN FROM THERE _NOW_!" Kidd shouted.

Black*Star, just noticing us, simply hopped off of the chandlier and slowly approached, Tsubaki in tow whispering appologies.

"Whats up guys? Your master just decided to pay you a visit!" He said with a grin. "You should be HONORED!"

Kidd looked like his head was about to split. "Why can't you just use the front door like a _normal_ person?" he asked, motioning towards one of the tall windows, which now had a gaping hole in the center.

"'Cuz I'm _not_ a normal person! I'm _Black*Star_, man who will surpass the Gods, the alpha and omega, the big dog, the – AGH!" He yelped as my hardbound copy of the _Grapes of Wrath_ bore down on his teal dome. Tsubaki winced as she watched her meister scream obscenities, rubbing his head. She soon recovered from her shock, giving Kidd and I a simple "'Morning!" before my host invited her inside for breakfast, his mood somewhat brighter after seeing the spunky ninja get what he deserved.

_At least we don't have to worry about all the extra food._ I thought to myself before stepping into the kitchen.

* * *

This morning was a _disaster_ – and that's not even counting Black*Star's surprise appearance. I thought making Maka a nice breakfast would gain her approval, but apparently I was wrong. As soon as she got downstairs, she got that look in her eyes that she had last night. What could it be this time? Was it because I knew how to cook? Did my culinary skills seem _unmanly_ to her or something? As soon as she grabbed her plate, she sat at the bar a few feet away from me. I thought that maybe we'd be able to chat while we ate our breakfast _together_ – instead she'd pulled out her book and began to read. Was I _that_ boring to be around?

That wasn't all.

When I sat next to her today while she was watching TV, she took out a book – when I walk in the guest room to ask if she wants to go do something, she says that "Its okay" because she's reading.

Whatever. Why do I even care what she thinks? Dad was the one that made me take Maka in anyway...

Ok, that was a lie.

I honestly _enjoy_ Maka's company. I hold everyone in our little group dear(even that little gerk Black*Star), but I feel that I can hold a conversation with her the easiest. We share the same opinion on many topics, and get along well – which is exactly why I had no problem with her staying in my home. I just didn't forsee her getting so_uncomfortable_.

"How am I supposed to feel at ease when the person who's supposed to be rooming with me for a month can't stand to talk to me or be around me for more than five minutes?" I mumbled to myself, as I walked down the hall to my room, stopping as I passed Maka's room, hearing her speaking to someone over the phone.

"I just don't know what to do..." I heard Maka say, her words muffled through the door. I couldn't make out all of her words, but I was sure that she was talking about me. After listening for a few more seconds, I was able to make out a bit more.

"It makes me so uncomfortable... You think so...? Ok... I'll do it tonight."

_Do it tonight? Do WHAT tonight?_ I thought to myself, panicking at what was to come before hearing Maka's footsteps coming towards the door. I sped down the hall and slammed my door before Maka could find me eavesdropping.

What could Maka have meant? Who was she talking to?

_Probably Soul._ I thought to myself with a frown. She and Soul were like siblings, however according to a few rumors floating around the school, their relationship was more than just a platonic one. No doubt she calls him for all of her problems, and this time was no different.

A few minutes later, Maka came out of her room, calling from down the hall that she was going shopping.

* * *

Breakfast this morning was _great_! Forget Denny's – Kidd could definitely give the chefs there a run for their money. Having Tsubaki join us was a nice addition too(though I could have done without Black*Star), and with she and Black*Star eating with us, we didn't have to worry about leftovers.

The only thing that worried me(despite Black*Star's ranting about how great he was) was Kidd's expression. He seemed distant while we were all talking. He kept looking out the window, his hand rested on his chin with a concerned look set onto his face. Even after Black*Star and Tsubaki left, his moodiness lasted through the entire day. Every time I looked up from my book he was sighing or looking at his shoes. Was this the norm? I decided to call Liz and get some advice.

"Whats up Maka?" Shouted Liz over some applause and drums in the background. According to Liz, I'd called while she and her family had gone out to a luau, but she was cool with staying on the phone to talk to me.

"I'm glad to hear that you're having fun, but I have a bit of a problem on my hands." I said uneasily.

"_PLEASE_ don't tell me you bumped one of Kidd's picture frames like those two idiots did last week." The weapon begged, referring to Soul and Black*Star's antics.

"No, nothing like that. This is actually something completely unrelated to Kidd's OCD. He's been acting strange lately." I said with concern.

"_Strange?_ We're talking about Kidd here. You're gonna have to go into specifics."

"Well, how do you deal with Kidd when he's... moody? Whenever I look at him he's sighing or staring at nothing in particular. He seems kinda... _on edge._ It makes me so uncomfortable." I finished.

"Hmm..." Liz said, thinking. "That doesn't sound very good – when it comes to normal problems, Kidd is like an open book. You can always tell what the problem is and deal with it quickly. Sometimes though, when he's confused about something, he prefers to deal with it on his own. One thing you can't forget when you live with him: Kidd is a_complicated_ individual. He may be all smiles and gentleman-like gestures on a normal basis, but when he has a problem that he's having an issue solving, its like he has a mental war going on in his head, and he isn't going to ask for help. The best thing you can do is sorta 'cheer him on from a distance'. I recommend cooking his favorite meal."

"You think so?" I asked.

"Yep. You remember the recipe right?"

"Of course!"

"Okay then – I'm sorry that I have to get off so fast, but one of the fire-jugglers just dropped his torch on his foot, and I have to stop Patty from laughing," The older Thompson sister said with a sigh. "I don't want people to start staring."

"Ok."

"Don't forget my advice – just hang in there girl. Trust me, whatever is bothering Kidd will probably be over by tomorrow."

"I'll do it tonight." I assured her. "Bye, and enjoy the rest of your trip! Tell Patty I said hi."

"No prob. Later!" Liz said, before hanging up.

"Okay... If I'm going to do this, I need to do it quick before the stores close." I said to myself as I pulled on my jacket and grabbed my student meal card, a special card issued to all DWMA students to be used at any shops around Death City. I would need it with all of the stuff I would buy – I couldn't ask Kidd. It would ruin the surprise.

"I'm going shopping Kidd! I'll be back in a few!" I shouted towards my friend's room before rushing down the stairs and out of the house.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

**Next chapter:**

**Kidd prepares himself for Maka's "departure". He's sure that she's leaving the house ****_tonight_****, and that he's failed her as a host. Meanwhile, Maka prepares dinner downstairs, wondering whats eating at her distraught host.**

**Find out in the next chapter.**

**Leave me reviews and love and I'll sing for youuuuu~ XD! Oh, and I also need some ideas of activities that Kidd and Maka can do during their month together. I have the next four chapters or so planned out, including a surprise visit from Spirit, but I need more ideas people. Feel free to leave them along with your reviews.**

**As for the people that don't review... I'll take your soul.**


	3. A very important friend

**Here's the third chapter, fresh off the assembly line and ready to go. Hope you like it(put it in the reviews if you don't).**

**A/N: Rated T for teen due to bad language.**

**I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, THE ANIME OR THE SERIES. **I do own the storyline of this fanfic, however.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

**A Month in the House of Death**

_by RapozaTeRa(formerly Samurai Tsundere)_

**Chapter Three:**

**A Very Important Friend  
**

* * *

"Kidd, come downstairs! I've got something for you!"

This was it. After Maka came home, I heard noise form downstairs for at least an hour. She was probably packing up all of her things, and now she was going to call me down to tell me that she was leaving. I bet she wasn't even out shopping – she was probably out finding another friend to stay with when she left. While in my room, I did come to a conclusion though: This was _Maka's_ decision. If she just wasn't comfortable staying with me, then she had every right to leave. It was just the thought of how awkward things would be after she left that really got to me. She would probably feel awkward just talking to me. I find it hard to face the fact that I might be losing such an important friend.

"Well, I have to deal with this some time..." I mumbled to myself as I got out of my bed, leaving the tranquil sanctuary of my room to deal with whatever was to come. I was a bit surprised, however, to be greeted with a familiar smell wafting from the kitchen on my way down the stairs. A when I reached the kitchen, Maka was sitting in the breakfast nook. The room was dark, only a few candles in the middle of the table. My eyes got wide when I noticed my favorite meal on the table.

My senses skyrocketed when I saw baked salmon, stuffed with breadcrumbs, sautéed vegetables and crab meat, next to a baked potato, covered in cheese and bits of bacon scattered all over. Two plates were set out, one in front of Maka, and one for a seat that was presumably mine.

Either I'd made a huge mistake, or this girl really knew how to throw one heck of a goodbye party.

"Glad you to see you out of your room." Maka said with a grin. "Take a seat."

I did. "What is all this for?" I asked, only half ready for the answer I was going to receive.

"I thought you seemed down lately, and I decided to cook your favorite." She said with a small smile.

"You mean you remembered?" I asked, surprised.

"Of course. Try it. Tell me what you think."

I nodded, trying a bite of each dish. They tasted just as heavenly as they smelled and looked. "Oh my _gosh_..." I said, my taste buds going into euphoria. "This," I said, pointing to the food with my fork. "is delicious!"

"I'm glad you like it." Said the small girl across from me. "Now if you don't mind, could you possibly tell me whats been going on lately? You know if you have a problem you don't have to go it _completely_ alone right?" she asked with concern.

"Huh?" I said, salmon in my mouth as I said this.

"Your problem? You do have a problem right? Or at least something you're angry at, because all day today you've been acting strange."

I mulled Maka's words and heaved a heavy sigh. "WOW... that takes a huge load off of my shoulders."

"What?" Maka asked, even more confused than before. "I worked hard on this meal. The least you could do is tell me whats troubling you."

"Well... its just that, I kinda thought you were angry at me." I said, chuckling slightly. "I guess I was worried for nothing."

"What would possess you to think _that?_" The meister asked, now looking utterly confused. "We had fun last night didn't we? And this morning you made such a nice breakfast... Whats going through your _head_ Kidd?"

"I thought... I thought that you were repulsed by my... uh... little problem."

"You mean how you have a spazz attack every time you see something unsymmetrical?" She said nonchalantly. "You can't be serious."

"I mean it," I said, wanting to defend myself. "I noticed the way you looked while I prepared the Rec Room for you, and while I was making snacks – you had this piteous look on your face while I tried to fix your ice cream, like you were sorry for 'the kid with the OCD issues' You looked uncomfortable here and there last night." I said. "Then, when I made you breakfast this morning, you gave me that same look again, and instead of eating with me, you went off to read your book, but as soon as Black*Star and Tsubaki came to eat with us, you went back to normal." I said, finishing my rant... for now.

Maka simply sat in her seat, her index finger and her thumb resting on the bridge of her nose. The gesture reminded me of a mother when her child has done something completely stupid. She was angry, that much was obvious, but in a few moments, her face softened and she looked into my eyes before she spoke.

"Listen... when I looked at you, that wasn't pity... it more like embarrassment." She said, her cheeks now turning slightly pink.

"You were embarrassed? Why?" I asked, slightly confused by her reaction.

"I just couldn't stop myself from thinking how good you're treating me. How you've gone out of your way to make me comfortable. When I saw you rushing around the house trying to do _everything _for me – carrying my luggage in for me, fluffing my pillows... getting my ice cream," She said with a smirk. " – and the whole time you were doing this for me... I thought about how I probably wouldn't be able to pay you back. When I woke up to a huge breakfast like the one you'd made me, it just made me feel even worse." She finished shyly.

"Wait... so you _didn't_ like the breakfast?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"Ugh – _no _you idiot! The breakfast was _great._ Because of it, I may never eat at IHOP again."

"But I heard you on the phone saying something about how I "made you so uncomfortable" and whatnot."

"_You eavesdropped on my phone call?_" She bellowed, slamming her hands on the table and standing up. I flinched, wondering what I'd just gotten myself into.

"I-I thought you were talking about me," I replied weakly. "...which you _were_. If you have a problem, wouldn't you address it with me?" I asked, regaining my composure.

"I didn't know what was bothering you! You wouldn't say anything all day – so I called Liz and asked what she thought I should do. I was worried!"

"Wait... you were talking to Liz?" I asked weakly.

"_Yeah_, who did you _think_ I was talking to?"

"N-no one... but still, _I'm_ not the only who has some explaining to do. I was acting that way because you were reading every six seconds. I make you a nice breakfast in hopes that we can talk a little, but you go off to read somewhere else. I thought you didn't want to deal with me. You always had a book in your hands, and I thought you were doing that to keep me away... so I did."

"When am I not reading? I always read when we're all playing basketball, and each morning, I read during breakfast when Soul and I are eating... I guess I forgot who's house I was in. I'm sorry, that _was_ really rude," She said, smiling apologetically. "but when Tsubaki and Black*Star came over, I thought it would be rude to read with several people in the house – just like I do with Soul. I may be a bookworm, but I'm not socially inept(at least not to the point where I have no friends)... I guess we're both in the wrong here." 'she said, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." I said. "Its just... I've never had a 'sleepover' with one of my friends before."I winced at the girly word. "Soul and Black*Star are good to spend an evening with – we can play video games and watch some sports, and I enjoy when we all train together, but at night, we wouldn't have much to talk about... and besides, we don't exactly have the same sense of humor..." I said, frowning.

"The picture frames?"

"Yeah..." I mumbled.

"What about Kallik?"

"We're pretty close too, but he's far more into music than I am, and that's all he wants to talk about... I must say, though, I love his hair." I said, thoughtfully.

"I know right?" Maka asked, putting on the same expression as me.

"But back to the point, you all are very special to me. You're the first people that _completely_ accepted me for who I am, not just because I'm the son of the harbinger of death. I just want to make sure you're happy."

Maka blushed slightly, looking away slightly before taking the last bite of her meal. We were both about finished.

"You said you've never had a sleep over right?" She asked tentatively, looking up.

"Nope." I replied evenly.

"Well, after we've taken care of the dishes and everything, we'll have one. I bought some popcorn while I was out after I noticed that there wasn't any last night." She said with a smile. "But first..."

I didn't see the leather-bound encyclopedia coming in the least.

I've seen Soul and Black*Star get Maka-chopped plenty of times. I saw the way that they screamed, or passed out, or started crying and thought that they were just over-reacting. That was probably because I'd never thought I'd get one myself, and _damn_ did it hurt. The pain was indescribable, and I could feel the spot where Maka had hit me swell immediately.

"THAT'S for listening to my phone call!" Maka said, grabbing our plates and walking to the sink. "And I want you to know that I wouldn't change you for the world Kidd. A Kidd without OCD issues wouldn't be Kidd now would it? I like you just the way you are, and I'm sure everyone else thinks the same. You don't have to be uncomfortable around any of our friends, or me. _You can be yourself around me._"

I sat there on the floor, clutching my head as I processed Maka's words. They meant way more than she thought. "Thank you..." I said, looking up from my hands over my head.

* * *

That night, Maka and I sat on the couch of the Rec Room playing video games and chatting. After a few hours, we settled down to watch another movie, a blanket draped over the two of us. Maka was getting tired, I noticed, as her head drooped on my shoulder slightly.

"We need to do this every night..." Was the last thing she mumbled before she drifted off to sleep.

"Yeah... I think I'd like that..." I said, feeling quite tired myself.

**:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~**

**Next Chapter:**

**Maka gets a bit bored of reading all day, and wants to get out of the house. When Kidd takes her on a tour of his mansion's grounds, he reveals a secret to her that changes her view of the young shinigami, and sets her heart racing every time she thinks of him.**

**I hope you liked this chapter! I may write another one today if I don't have anywhere to go, and if not, you'll have the next chap tomorrow. Make sure you leave reviews, because if you don't, I won't be writing anything. :(**

**If you don't... I'll take your ****soul****.**


	4. Feline Features

**Thank you all SO FRIGGIN MUCH for giving me reviews ON MY FIRST DAY! I'm elated O/w/O, and I'm super eager to release the next chapter of the "House of Death" series. As for the people that HAVE given reviews:**

**Dennou Writer – You get a visit from Halle Berry**

**KuriSari – You get a pre-paid trip to Japan**

**Zoe Whiteraven – You get a $800 dollar coupon to IHOP**

**EclipseStripe – You get a litter of puppies(and yes, your parents say you can keep ****_all_**** of them)**

**EllaLewis – You get two tickets to Disney World**

**Trachymene – You get a Wii**

**Yijasha – You get a crappy home eddition of our game. Ha! JK! ****_You_**** get a baby dinosaur.**

**At the end of this chapter, I WILL answer your questions or pleas of encouragement. Thanks so much for your support!**

**Author's Notes: Rated T for teen just to be safe(I don't feel like re-checking my work for language)**

**THERE WILL BE AN OC, but only for this one chapter. He doesn't even have any major lines, so don't get your panties all in a twist.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, THE SERIES, ANIME, MANGA, OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OR MERCHANDISE, ECT. ****_I do own the storyline of this fanfic, however._**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**A Month in the House of Death**

_by RapozaTeRa(formerly __Samurai Tsundere)_

**Chapter Four:**

**Feline Features**

* * *

**DAY 3**

I woke up to the tickle of someone's breath in my hair. I jerked awake before realizing where I was. This was the second time this had happened since I've been here. I sat up slowly after remembering the events of last night, and reminded myself that I had no reason to panic, because the head that sat atop my own was Kidd's.

I slid myself from under him carefully. He was out cold, and after how late we stayed up, he'd probably want some sleep. It wasn't until I was halfway out of the blanket we were both enveloped in that I noticed that his hand was intertwined with mine.

_How did THAT happen? _I asked myself, blushing feverishly, swallowing the panic that usually ensued when I got into an awkward position like this.

"Maka...?" A groggy Kidd asked, breaking my concentration and making me nearly jump out of my skin.

"Yeah. G'morning." I said shakily.

Kidd got up slowly, stretching once he'd gained his balance. "So, what would you like to do today?" He asked between stretches. Apparently he didn't remember lacing his hands with mine.

_Its probably better for the both of us that he doesn't._ I thought to myself before replying. "I think I'll just finish the book that I brought with me." I said. Kidd just gave me a warm smile and a nod before he walked off into the kitchen, mentioning something about having to organize his spice cabinet. After last night's talk, Kidd and I had reached an understanding that I'd be reading regularly, and not to take my habits to heart. He complied, probably just happy that I wasn't mad at him.

* * *

After going through the usual morning routines(brushing our teeth, showering, ect.)Kidd and I went about our business for the next hour or so, me scanning the pages of my romance novel on the sofa, Kidd in the kitchen, organizing his assorted array of spices(There was so many it was hard to find the required ones for last night's meal! He_MUST'VE_ had about six different kinds of salt... ) and filling the house with clinks and crashes. It was about ten thirty when Kidd was finished with his spices, walking upstairs to fix some other imperfections in the house, no doubt, and eleven when I finished my book. I reached over to my backpack under the coffee table in-between the Kidd's flat screen and the sofa, shuffling through the few belongings I was able to salvage from our melting apartment, trying to find another . I was surprised to find that the thick romance novel was the only book I had with me. Besides the thick encyclopedias and textbooks I'd quickly stuffed into my backpack, only for the purpose of Maka-chopping people, I had nothing.

_I must've been too panicked while I was packing to realize the only actual pleasure book I'd brought with me was the book that was on my bed. _I thought to myself angrily, getting up from my spot on the couch and making my way upstairs. I had nothing to do now, so maybe I could help Kidd organize the house. I probably couldn't re-align something on my own, but maybe I could hold the end of a tape measure for him or something.

Sure enough, I arrived upstairs to see Kidd standing a few feet away from a clay vase decorated with intricate tribal swirls on a white marble pedestal that complimented the floors nicely, his arm outstretched, the ruler in his hand pointed towards the ceiling, his right eye closed, and his tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. A heavy-looking work belt filled with all kids of measuring tools was strapped around his waist, but he seemed to pay no mind.

"Hello Maka," He said, somehow _feeling_ my approach, not looking away from what he was doing in the least. "do you need something?"

"No, not really. I was just wondering if you needed any help." I said, indicating the vase.

"I thought you were reading?"

"Well, I kinda ran out of books..."

"You're a faster reader than I thought." He said, finally shifting his attention from his work and lifting an eyebrow at me.

"I-it's not that..." I said, looking at the floor, feeling slightly embarrassed as I explained my predicament with my lack of books, Kidd's eyes shifting from interested to slightly amused. After I finished explaining, he slid his ruler into his work belt, and put his hand to his chin.

"Hmm... Wait here." He said, before walking down the long corridor to his room. When he came back, he was carrying an oddly shaped red piece of plastic.

"What is this?" I asked, taking the credit card and squinting my eyes to get a closer look. There was a large skull in the center, and the edges had silver spikes along the sides that wouldn't be slid through the machine at the register.

"That," Kidd said, a grin slowly forming on his face. "Is a Death Card."

"Never heard of it," I said, prying my eyes away from the strange item. "Is it some sort of special gift card to Deathbucks?(1)"

"Hardly," He scoffed. "The Death Card is a special type of credit card, worth even more than a Black Card(2). This baby could be used to buy an entire _island_ completely on credit. Its exclusive to father and I, being that he is the one and only Death personified, and I being his heir. We try to keep the existence of the Death Card under wraps, however." He said in his usually lofty fashion. "Take it and go crazy." He said, grinning.

I almost felt my jaw unhinge. "You mean I can get _anything I want?_" I inquired, in almost a whisper.

"Anything you want." He confirmed calmly, his smirk never leaving his face. Suddenly I realized why Liz and Patty always offered to pay the entire bill when we went out shopping. I felt slightly stupid for never obliging. In my head I was in euphoria. My mind wandered at the possibilities. So many books I could buy... I shivered in glee at the thought.

I sighed, my morals kicking in before I could get ahead of myself. "I can't take this from you Kidd. You've already done so much, and –"

"I insist, Maka. You are one of my closest friends, and I only let those that I truly trust use, let alone know about the Death Card. Please... just this once I want you to treat yourself. It'd actually make me _happy_ if you went out and bought a Ferrari or two." He said with a chuckle.

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking down at the limitless amount of money in my hands.

"Of course. In fact, you're not coming back home for the next three hours." He said suddenly, turning away from me as if there'd be no discussing it, sliding the ruler out of his pocket again and reclaiming the position he had before. I knew he could see me staring dumbfounded from the corner of his eye, but didn't react in the least, going back into the same Zen-like state he had before I walked in on his primping.

"You can't be serious," I said, suddenly feeling a flash of anger. "Hey, you jerk, ANSWER ME!" I shouted. Nothing. I soon got an idea.

"Okay, ignore me then! I just won't leave this spot." I said, putting on a pout and tossing my head, my eyes closed like I did when I wanted to get my way with Soul. After a few moments, and the sound of clay shifting on marble, Kidd sighed.

"I didn't want to do this... but you've given me no choice." I didn't flinch when I heard Kidd's footsteps. However, I _did _flinch when I felt a pair of surprisingly strong arms lifted me by the waist, causing a soft cry of surprise to escape my throat. My eyes snapped open immediately.

"K-KIDD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PUT ME DOWN!" I said, kicking my legs as the young shinigami carried me down the stairs over his shoulder. I whined, and kicked, and called Kid every name in the book, but he never broke stride, carrying me all the way to the front door, opening it, and dumping me outside, after which, he slammed the door in my face and locked it. I stared at the ebony double-doors for a while before slumping down on the steps in defeat, thinking to myself all the while _I can't believe he just _did_ that!_ I looked up at the sky, noticing the gray clouds looming overhead. Great.

"Does he expect me to just walk around _in the rain?_" I mumbled angrily, staring at the Death Card still clutched in my hands.

* * *

After about ten minutes of sulking, I heard the locks being fumbled with on the other side of the door. It opened slightly, most likely so that I couldn't try any last attempts at getting in the house, as a small baggy was unceremoniously tossed out onto the steps. Through the pastic, I saw my cell phone, a pen, and a notepad. A small umbrella followed. Through the crack of the door, the only thing I could see was Kidd's cat-like golden eyes. The living room was completely dark since it wasn't in use at the moment, giving them an eerie glow. A slight chill went down my spine as I gazed into those golden orbs from my place on the steps, completely stupefied. Kidd spoke, braking me out of my trance.

"I've called up a chauffeur for you. He'll be here to pick you up in five minutes, and will take you wherever you want for three hours. On the way to the Death City shopping center, use that pad to write down anything and everything that you want to buy. There are no limits on what you can spend – you won't owe a thing to father and I. Have fun..." He said smoothly, flashing a Cheshire grin before closing the door with a slight _click_.

As promised, the chauffeur arrived in _exactly_ five minutes. A shiny black corvette with three stripes similar to Kidd's – except for the fact that the sanzu lines went all the way across the hood, probably so that the car stayed _completely_ symmetrical – practically purred up into the mansion's cobblestone driveway. A burly man with a receding hairline and a cigar in his mouth poked his head out of the window.

"Are you a miss Maka Albarn?" He asked with a Jersey accent.

_How clichéd is _that? I thought, rolling my eyes._ A chauffeur with Jersey twang..._

"That's me."

"Hop in." He said, thumbing at the back seat. "I've been instructed to drive you straight to the Death City shopping center, and not to disturb you on our way there. The young master also instructed me not to bring you anywhere else before you've spent at least an hour and a half in the shopping center. Understood?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

There was something intimidating about the man, so I complied without question, stepping into the back seat, making myself comfortable in the plush patent-leather seats.

"Comfy?" The man inquired warmly, adjusting the rear-view mirror so he could see my face. Now that I got a good look at him, he didn't seem quite as scary as before. I saw a certain kindness in his eyes that made me less afraid. I could see why my friend hired him.

"Yes."

"Good." He said, turning to re-adjust his mirror. "By the way, my name is Mitch." He said.

"Nice to meet you, Mitch." I said, trying to be polite. Following his orders, Mitch didn't say a thing, simply putting the keys into the ignition and driving down the very steep hill leading up to Kidd's mansion.

"This is going to be a _long_ day." I mumbled to myself, gazing out the window, soliciting a chuckle from Mitch.

* * *

I felt bad kicking Maka out the way I did. She looked _really_ angry after I dropped her outside.

_Its okay though... _I thought, folding my arms behind me and re-adjusting myself on my bed. _my plan will work, and she'll be happier when she gets back._

I've seen the effect that the Death Card can have on people. For smart and trustworth people like Maka, Liz and Patty, stopping yourself from buying everything within a five-mile radius would be easy, but for those with less honor and self-control, it would be easy to lose yourself in the depths of greed. BUT, despite Maka's very well-shaped sense of self-control and how she stubbornly refused to spend my money, her way of thinking _will_ change over time. I gave Mitch those guidlines to follow for a _reason_. The drive to the Death City shopping center would take at least thirty minutes, and during those thirty minutes, Maka would have _plenty _of time to think about what she wanted, her idle mind forcing her to write down a few items which would soon grow into a long list. If that didn't work, I had a backup plan. I instructed Mitch to not let Maka leave the shopping center to go somewhere else until an hour and a half had passed. I picked the Death City shopping center in particular because of its famed alluring store windows and broad selection of shops. That along with the center's humungous library and its large collection of books, Maka wouldn't be able to stop herself from buying _something_(or rather _some things_)in the entire hour and a half she was forced to stay there.

_This is a great plan,_ I thought with a smirk. _and I can focus on the plans of this evening while she's gone..._

* * *

My eye twitched slightly when my fingers brushed the baggy, containing that blasted pen and tablet. The temptation _was _sickenking. There was so many things I wanted... I really wanted to get the next two books in _The Hunger Games_ trilogy(3), and a bunch of other titles, but I wouldn't give into the temptation, I _wouldn't let Kidd win..._

It had only been fifteen minutes through the car trip, and my patience was wearing very thin. I tried looking out the window and taking in the scenery, but pretty much all of Death City looked the same, and the only thing I could really do was watch the laughing sun to see if it would do anything out of the ordinary. THAT ususally gets boring after five minutes, so I directed my attention back to the notepad and pen. I pulled it out of the plastic bag, as well as my cell phone, slipping it into my pocket, and sat there, staring at its mocking red-lined pages. I picked up the pen, afraid of what I'd do if I started writing.

_Well,_ I thought uncomfortably. _I _do_ need a new pair of boots... my old pair is _really _beaten up from my last few missions._ I wrote _new boots_ down in my usual curly script. I quickly put the pen and pad down before I could give any more into the temptation, but before the pen hit the leather seats it was back in my hands again. _And Soul will need a new jacket... _That dog-kishin egg that we faced last week had ripped his jacket in two, and if that wasn't bad enough, it decided that the spot that Soul had just to happened to be standing in at the time would be a _great _place to mark his territory. Soul smelled like dog pee of three days, and after that experience, I'm pretty sure that his jacket was beyond repair. I wrote down _new jacket_.

_I guess I could write down a few more things... but _only _the essentials! _I thought to myself sternly.

* * *

"How on earth did this _happen_?" I mumbled, facepalming(4) myself as I watched several suited men wheel countless shopping bags and boxes into the mansion. In retrospect, I was NOT prepared for how much I would splurge myself.

When we arrived at the shopping center, I had written down at least three pages of "essentials", jotting down one or two more before stepping out of the car.

"I'll be back in an hour and a half Miss Albarn." Mitch said before waving goodbye and speeding off out of the large parkinglot.

The Death City shopping center was _humungous_ I stared in awe at how many floors and wings the center had. When I walked inside the mall, I could barely focus my eyes on one thing. There were hundreds of store windows and neon signs. It was like Vegas for shoppaholics. I snapped back to reality, grabbing the list from my pocket. _Only the essentials_ I chanted to myself, trying to avert my eyes from the appealing store windows.

I saw store that sold teen wear, the display window sporting all kinds of unique clothes. I saw a black leather jacket on a mannequin with some tattered jeans. I knew immediately that _that _was the jacket I was looking for. I speed-walked to the boy's section to find the jacket, doing my best to ignore all of the trendy and cute clothes on racks nearby. After a few minutes of searching, I found it. The tough leather was no match for a kishin's claws(it would have to be made of titanium for that) but it _would _keep Soul safe from the elements. I tossed the jacket over my shoulder and scratched the item off of my list. I then walked towards the shoe section. Surely a store that sold Harley Davidson leather jackets would have a cool pair of combat boots. I searched through the shoe section, prying my eyes away from countless cool pairs of converse, searching desperately for the combat boots. As much as I wanted a pair, they just wouldn't be efficient for training. They would make me light on my feet, but one wrong move would cause them to slip off, causing me to hesitate for a moment. Seeing how every moment counted while taking down the enemy, I winced at the thought of buying shoes that really could get me killed. After a few more moments of searching, I found an appropriate pair of boots in my size and made my leave, stopping, however, at the most beautiful and unique pair of boots I'd _ever seen._

The boots were converse... I-I mean the _converse _were _boots_... I mean... The pair of shoes looked like converse, but went up to the knees. I walked up to the pair of sneaker-boots on the very fancy display pedestal, feeling how rough the material of the shoes were, taking notice that that would help in missions, and the shoes would have a long life. They even had buckles - buckles that went up the length of the shoe, giving it a sort of gothic-punk look. _These _shoes definitely wouldn't be slipping off anytime soon. My thoughts went back to what Kidd had said earlier.

_...anything and everything that you want to buy..._

_...no limits on what you can spend..._

_Anything you want..._

_Anything I want..._ I thought to myself, clenching the two-hundred-dollar price tag... I heaved a sigh as I grabbed the boots off of the shelf.

Thats pretty much how the next hour and a half went by. I'd go into a store, reminding myself to only get the essentials, but end up grabbing a few other things as well. I'd pretty much done all my Christmas shopping for Soul and I in that one evening. I bought an Xbox 360 and a few other items that I knew would suit his tastes, and even new phones for the two of us. After a while the bags I was carrying began to get a little heavy, and I was actually sad that my shopping spree was over. In my frenzied state I'd even negated from buying books! As I began to walk towards the front of the mall, only half-way done with my hour and a half, several men in black suits and glasses began to step from behind support beams and jump out of trash cans.

_What the hell?_ I was beginning to think that the president was nearby or something, because soon I was surrounded by... by...

_Men in Black_ I thought, facepalming at the irony of the situation.

Soon one of the men stepped forward with a tape recorder in his hand. "Play it please, Ms. Albarn."

I nodded quickly, wondering, at first, if I was getting mugged until I noticed the familiar skulls on all of the men's uniforms. I pressed the play button and was unsurprised to hear Kidd's slow, smooth voice.

_Having fun Maka? If my plan worked then I'm going under the assumption that you are. I'm sure that the men surrounding you have scared you silly, but don't worry, this was a necessary precaution. I knew that you'd probably buy your weight in items before the first forty-five minutes were up, so I called for some help. Not only will these good men help you carry your bags, but they will keep you and the Death Card safe. As creepy as this sounds, these men have been following you since you left the house. I mean, any criminal with half a brain would try to mug a young girl carrying shopping bags from fifty different brand-name stores as soon as she left the mall. I'm sorry, but I care for your safety. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your trip, and remember, you won't owe me __**anything.**__ I care for your happiness, and I want you to enjoy yourself. Have fun!_

The tape clicked, signaling that it was over. I could feel tears forming in my eyes.

"Are you okay ma'am?" One of the men in black asked, stepping forward.

"Yeah... yeah I'm fine." I'd HAVE to find a way to thank Kidd for this later. I may not be able to pay him back, but I WOULD show my appreciation.

When I got back to the house, and all of my things had been wheeled inside(my bodyguards ran out of space in my large guestroom and had to put the rest in Kid's garage!) Kidd slowly walked down the staircase, grinning. Before he could speak I ran up to him and gave him a huge hug.

"Thanks." I whispered over his shoulder.

"You're welcome." He said, hugging me back.

* * *

"Thanks." Maka whispered over my shoulder after pulling me into a big hug.

I must say, the hug was a big surprise, but a welcomed one. I can't remember the last time that I've been hugged by anyone, and so hard at that. Dad was usually too busy, even though I knew he loved me(his affections sometimes emberrassed me in front of my friends as he brought everyone's attention to my friggin' unsymetrical sanzu lines, calling them _cute._), and Liz and Patty didn't do it often, usually only when I was hurt(which, again, wasn't very often). However, the hugs I _do _remember didn't feel like this... so full of emotion... so full of... _love_. It felt _great _when I hugged her back.

"You're welcome."

* * *

I spent the next twenty minutes reading, but I was surprised at how _bored _I was. This made me angry. I was like a child on Christmas morning – there was just so much stuff that I didn't know what to do with myself. I'd bought over a hundred books on many subjects, and I wanted to try on all my new clothes, but I was just too... _bored _to do that. I tried to think back to what I usually did when this would happen when I was five – before Mama and Papa got divorced and we spent all of our Christmases together – I either found myself playing with my older toys, which always made my mother angry. This left me stumped, as I realized that that situation didn't even apply to my own. I plopped down on the couch with a sigh. What was I going to do now?

"Bored?" I heard a familiar voice ask, almost causing me to jump out of my skin.

"Stop DOING that!" I shouted, clutching my heart. Kidd chuckled.

"I'd understand if you are. The same thing happened to Liz and Patty when they came from their first major shopping spree. After buying anything and everything you could ever want, you don't know where to start. Am I right?" I nodded slowly, blushing. "Good. Then my predictions were correct and my planning didn't go to waste."

"Planning? Planning for what?" I asked.

"I didn't want my guest to be bored, so I planned out the evening. How does a walk around the mansion grounds sound? The only parts you've seen are a few of the bed rooms, the kitchen and the Rec Room... and the dining room." He said with a grimace, probably remembering Black*Star's antics from the day before. "So do you want to come?"

"Ya'know, I find it almost scary as to how fast you're able to plan things. You came up with 'Operation: Get Maka to Shop' in only ten minutes."

"Nice name." He qupped, causing the two of us to laugh.

* * *

We spent the next hour or so touring the grounds. It was just as weird as I expected it to be. There were two pools on each side of the mansion(for symetrical reasons, no doubt) and a Deathbucks, as well as a giraffe pen. I was dumbfounded as I watched the long-necked beasts stalk around the pen.

"What the heck?" I mumbled to myself as one of the giraffes reached its head down and began to lick me.

"This is Stilts," Kidd said, rubbing the creature between the antlers. "Patty's pet giraffe."

"She bought GIRAFFES?"

"It keeps her busy." He said evenly, as he jumped a few feet off the ground, avoiding the long spotted neck that sweeped under his feet. "And _that_, " Kid said with a chuckle. "Is Giraffee."

"Giraffee? Really?" I said, erupting into a fit of giggles, watching Kidd and the giraffe play a sort of game similar to jump rope.

"Yeah, really creative right? Watch him though, he's rowdy."

After a while, we stopped at a garden with a fountain in the center to rest(the mansion's grounds were a few acres long, so we had alot to see). I remembered that I'd forgotten my water bottle in the house. I excused myself from Kidd and ran back to retrieve it. When I got back, I saw something amazing.

He was sitting on one of the stone benches in the garden and all sorts of small creatures were surrounding him. Birds were on his shoulders and squirrels were at his feet, and a butterfly was on his head, making it look like he was wearing a bow. It was like something out of a Disney Princess scene. His eyes were so kind as he looked at all the furry faces... I think I was seeing a side of Kidd that no one ever had... or rather, a side that I _shouldn've_ seen_. _A bird had just hopped up onto Kid's finger before he noticed my presence and jumped a bit. All of the little critters scattered.

"M-Maka?" He said, his face going five different shades of red. "...how much did you just see?"

"Enough." I said, quietly.

"Damn... y-you didn't just see that. You didn't see _anything_." He said, doing his best to hide his face, stomping off.

"Why are you running away? There's nothing wrong with you liking animals."

"I _**DON'T LIKE ANIMALS!**_" He said fiercly, turning back to me.

"Its pretty obvious that you do, with what I just saw." I said, stepping closer. "There really isn't anything to be embarrassed about." I said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. He didn't shrug it off, his head hanging to the ground.

"Yes it is... I can cook... I clean... I have _symmetrical needs._.. Alot of the things I do are unmanly, and being an animal lover isn't going to help my image."

"I thought you always said you didn't care what others thought?"

"I-I don't... Well, I wouldn't call it 'caring what others think' so much as me not wanting ALL of my secrets to be known by everyone around me. You all know about my OCD issues, something I tried to keep under wraps until about two years before I met you all, then I tried to keep my culinary skills a secret, but Liz and Patty kept on inviting people over for dinner, so that cat was out of the bag, and now the only thing I had left was this and the Death Card, and even you Liz and Patty know about _that_(not that I don't trust you guys, because I was the one that insisted you use it)." He heaved a sigh, now lifting his head and staring at nothing in particular. "I feel like... like I have nothing to hide anymore."

"Isn't that a good way to live? A life without secrets sounds like a very good way to live. You've just about come to terms with all of your flaws(even if you seem a little insecure about some of them), and you have friends that accept you for these flaws. I'd give up everything that I bought today to be able to live like that." I finished, now looking at my feet.

Kidd must've seen my distress, and decided to change the subject. "Come," he said, grabbing my hand, causing me to blush. "I have one final secret to show you."

* * *

The sun was setting as Kidd and I ran through the stone pathways of his gardens. The golden rays seemed to hit every flower in just the right way, and there were fireflies everywhere, creating the perfect scene.

_This is kinda romantic, _I thought, blinking and blushing to myself. I was running through a garden with a boy, and there were fireflies everywhere. It was kinda like something out of one of those chick-flics all the girls at school were watching. Kidd and I didn't spend nearly as much time together as I did with Soul, but I've always felt that when we made eye-contact during battle, we always knew what the other wanted to do. Wasn't that the type of thing people would kill for in a relationship: being able to synchronize your thoughts, preventing arguments and being considerate of the other's feelings? All of a sudden, the idea of having a more-than-platonic relationship with my classmate didn't sound very unappealing at all...

_No, _I thought, closing my eyes and shaking my head feverishly. _platonic good, intimate bad!_

"Maka?" Kidd asked, looking over his shoulder with concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I amended quickly.

"Okay, good," He said with a warm smile. "We're almost there."

We finally stopped, panting in front of a large hedge. I could hear a slight whining sound on the other side.

_What on earth? _I thought, before he instructed me to dive in headfirst.

"Are you NUTS?" I asked incredulously.

"Just do it," He said, giving me a little shove, causing me to fall straight through the bush.

There was a small secret circular clearing**,** surrounded by flower bushes. In the center was a miniature house with a shingled room and a small door, a light coming from the windows on each side. The source of the whining was coming from the house. Kidd stepped through the bush soon after I picked myself up off the ground.

"What the heck was that for?" I said, still a little peeved from being pushed. Kidd simply ignored me and opened the door of the small house, scooping out a very furry bundle in his arms.

They were kittens – at least seven of them – mewing and whining softly. Kidd set each of them down gently, stroking each on the head and cooing at them before looking up at me again.

"These are my kits," Kidd said, naming each in turn. "Silicy," he said, indicating to an umber kitten."Aurora," A White and grey stripped tabby. "Fang," An all-white kitten. "Jaspar," An orange kit with a torn ear. "Jasmine," An orange and white stripped tabby. "Loki," A white kitten with Black ears. "and Thor." A bright orange kitten. They all ran to me once introduced. I got on my knees so it would make it easier to play with them.

"Where... Where did you get all of them?" I asked giggling, as one began to lick my knee, another playing with my fingers.

"I found them on the side of the road. They were so hungry, and there were _eight _of them," He said, giving me a sly grin. He was referring to his obsession with the number eight. According to him, it was the most symmetrical number of them all since no matter how you cut it, the two pieces would still be perfectly symmetrical. I smiled at the thought. Leave it to Kid to adopt eight little lives based on how symetrical they were. There was, of course, more to his taking in of the kittens than that. There was a certain warmth to the way the he handled them – it was kind of like the way a father would handle his child. Kidd was similar to the kittens in so many ways.

_His yellow, catlike eyes..._

_His nimble fingers..._

_His strong... muscular limbs..._

_His __**soft**__... __**shiny**__ lips..._

_Woah, woah, woah... __**SOFT SHINY LIPS?**__ That wasn't catlike at __**all! **_I thought to myself, shaking my head, then stopping quickly, remembering the reaction I'd gotten from Kid before, my mind snapping back to reality.

I looked around at the kittens, playing with them a bit more when a sudden thought hit me. Kidd said there were _eight _of them but...

"Wait... Where's the last one?" I asked, slightly worried.

A flash of panic crossed Kidd's face as he hopped up to inspect the small house. He heaved a sigh of relief before as he pulled out another bundle, this one smaller than the others, its soft brown fur gleeming in the moonlight. He sat the sleeping kit on my lap, gazing at its sleeping form lovingly.

"I haven't been able to come up with a name for that one. " He said, tilting his head slightly. "I found them only a week ago." I lifted the kitten up to my face, its eyes suddenly fluttering open, revealing emerald green eyes similiar to my own. "She has your eyes," Kidd remarked with a chuckle. "What am I saying? It sounds like we're married." I silently freaked out on the inside at Kidd's off-handed comment. What was _WRONG_ with me today?

"Anyway, she's really strong, despite her appearance – her being the runt of the litter and all – which sort of makes her the underdog, but she never gives up when she's fighting for the bottle with the other kittens." He said, pulling a small bottle out of his pocket and feeding the kit, all of the kittens now flocking to him, pawing at his legs. Realization dawned on his face along with a grin. "Maka." He said. "Perfect."

His words made my heart flutter. Not only had Kidd shared a secret with me – but the two of us were the only people in the world who knew about his secret. It made me 'lightheaded' – or at least those were the words that the girls in our class with boyfriends used to describe the feeling. Suddenly I wanted to spend my days at school whispering with Kidd and passing notes as they did. The frivolous actions that I once thought to be useless and a waste of time suddenly seemed very appealing.

* * *

Apparently, Kidd had more _"plans" _for the two of us this evening, taking my drunken-with-sleep words from last night seriously, so from now until the end of our month together, we'd be having 'sleepovers.' It must not have occured to Kid that this ment that we'd most likely be sleeping together on the couch _every night_. I panicked and said yes of course, warming at the thought later when I put into consideration that that ment spending more time with him. I think I'd about come to terms with the feelings that I had for him... It was just not knowing what I was going to _do _with these feelings that made me nervous.

After we both took showers and got into our pajamas, Kidd asked if he could pick the movie for tonight. He chose _Toy Story 3, _surprisingly, explaining that he had never seen the popular blockbuster and had just bought it on DVD, and we sat down to watch. I found that I could barely focus on Woody and the gang, every movement Kid made making me blush and twitch. Halfway through the movie, I Kidd slung his arms accross the head of the sofa. I knew the gesture was purely mutual, seeing him do it to Liz, Patty, Tsubaki and I plenty of times before when we all sat together to watch a movie. He even explained why he did this, saying that it was the most symmetrical position for him to sit. Now, it set me off in mini panic attacks every time he shifted his arm slightly. I felt his head begin to droop, landing atop my own, just like last night. Since we were playing _déjà vu_ again, I decieded to lace my hand with his(his left arm had slid off of the head of the sofa)again, loving the feel of his fingers in-between mine, feeling pretty bushed myself.

"I'll just deal with it in the morning..." I mumbled, nodding off, the last thing I remember being Kidd, his arm sliding off the head of the couch in his half-asleep state and around my shoulders, wrapping me in a sort of half-embrace, and me, not caring at all.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

**(1) Deathbucks: The typical parody of Starbucks(I don't own the franchise, of course)**

**(2) Black Card: Formally known as the Centurion card, the black card is credit card that only the richest of the rich and high class have. You can buy an entire car with credit alone. I'm pretty sure Jay-Z, and other rich and famous irresponsible young mainstream celebrities have one.**

**(3) Hunger Games: An AMAZING mainstream fiction trilogy. The story is both haunting and amazing,(not haunting in the sense of gothic - not that anything is wrong with gothic). HIGHLY recommended.**

**(4) Facepalming: You know that thing that you do when your little brother walks into the living room in only his underwear when your friends are over? THATS facepalming. Its when you slap your hand to your forehead in a show of exasperation or annoyance.**

**Next Chapter:**

**Maka is still bored, despite all of the luxeries that surround her from yesterday's shopping trip, so Kidd offers to teach her how to air-surf, but how can he do that if his heart keeps pounding after the position he woke up in this morning? Whatever. Maybe his mind will clear once they set off on the surprise trip he plans on taking with Maka. Meanwhile, Spirit is in a state of depression after realizing that he hasn't seen his beloved Maka for almost four days. He rushes to the apartment she shares with that damned cockey shark-toothed albino, and is very surprised at the melted mess he finds in his place. How will he react to Shinigami-sama's news on her whereabouts?**

**Find out in the next chapter.**

**OOOOOKAAAY THEN – this chapter was a ****_long _****one wasn't it? Whatever. I still got everything in, including that last bubbly moment Ow. Anyway, I got a question from the reviewer ****_Dennou _**_**Writer.**_

**Question 1: ****_"W_**_**hy did Kidd, Liz, Patty and Tsubaki go to school in pajamas?"**_

**It was about three or four o' clock in the morning, and they were called in to help their friends. It isn't the classiest thing, not even bothering to get dressed in street clothes to go somewhere, I know, but if you were told your friends' house had just _melted_, it isn't time to worry about fashion, don't you think?**

**Question 2: "_Why did you have Soul stay with his grandmother? You know he has a terrible relationship with his family."_**

**Actually, its the relative in particular that I used that would justify my actions. Not much is known about Soul's grandmother, only that Soul and his brother Wes love her very much, so she can be pretty-much anything your imagination can bend her into.**

**Question 3: ****_"Liz and Patty going to a family reunion?"_**

**Yep. One could only assume that they have a bad relationship with their parents, because thought they were out on the street before Kidd took them in, but the show never says anything about the ****_rest _****of their family does it? This fic also takes place almost two years after Kishin-Asura was defeated, so it's been some time since their falling out with their family. That's plenty of time to patch things up.**

**Question 4: ****_"...and maybe i missed something, but where was Blair going to stay again?"_**

**Who knows? She could be staying with some of her girlfriends at the brothel, but she could also just be wandering the street. As hard as it is with her human appearnce, you have to remember that Blair is still a cat. There have been episodes where she's just walking around Death City in the middle of the night, so she'll figure something out.**

**KuriSari – Gladly ;)**

**Zoe Whiteraven – I'll have the next one tomorrow :D**

**EclipseStripe – Yeaaaah... :( They DO seem like they can use some work, can't they?**

**EllaLewis – Why thank you :). I thought the "Next Chapter" section would be a nice addition.**

**Trachymene – Thanks! I'm glad you find my writing good, AND comical :)**

**Yijasha – I enjoy IMing you, and I thank you for your support!**

**Please keep the reviews coming people! I jump around like an idiot every time I see one, and everyone in the house stares at me like I'm crazy .. As for the rest of my readers, please feel free to message me future ideas for the series. I have the next two or three chapters planned out already, and my creative juices may flow easier now that Spirit will be joining us soon, but ideas would be ****_great. _****If you guys wanna message me just to talk, that would be cool too :). I have a tumblr as well, and the link is on my profile. Follow for fanart, info on my fics, and my webcomic, which will be coming out some time this year.**

**Anyway, leave reviews... or I'll take your ****soul****.**


	5. Riding on Air

**Hiya guys! Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to make sure this chapter was PERFECT! I want to thank the following readers for reviewing:**

**-cookie monster gurl**

**-mp3r**

**-SymmetricalGirl8DeathTheKid**

**-Anya-Chan17**

**-Alice Nyte**

**-Craze-of-Shadows**

**-Epic Mickeygirl**

**-halberd42**

**-KidX**

**-catxmelons**

**-strawberry-wolf01**

**You all get Death Cards to use for an entire ten hours. All costs will be covered by Kidd himself ;).As for my original first few reviewers and those that have messaged me encouraging words and advice - you know who you are and I thank you as well . You get Death Cards too!**

**Author's Note: Rated T for Teen for language**

**Disclamer: ****_I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, THE SHOW, ANIME, MANGA, MERCHANDISE, CHARACTERS, ECT. _**I do own the storyline of this fanfic, however.

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**A Month in the House of Death**

_by RapozaTeRa(formerly Samurai Tsundere)_

**Chapter Five:**

**Riding on Air**

* * *

**DAY 4**

It was a beautiful morning. The purple horizon and royal-blue clouds made a very beautiful scene, and though it was four in the morning, Spirit Albarn was happy that he had taken the time to wake up to see it. He sat in a lawn chair on his stone balcony in his home near the top of Death City, overlooking the sand dunes miles below, the sand the same shade as the clouds. He heaved a sigh. The last couple of days had been so _drab_. He'd been doing the things he always did – waking up, planting a kiss on whatever lady-friend had shared his bed that night, making the two of them breakfast, seeing her off soon afterwards – he always paid his bill the night before, making it a less awkward exchange in the morning. Then he would get dressed, not really caring whether his red locks were messy or not – the ladies found his ruggedness an attractive trait, or so he'd heard – and walked to school to see his _beautiful daughter –_

_Maka! _He thought in alarm, grabbing his hair and beginning to cry. How long had it been since he'd seen his angel? Where was she? Was she okay? Suddenly images of his little girl somewhere in a ditch with a broken ankle, calling for her papa flashed through his mind.

"_No…" _He whispered to himself desperately. Slowly other ghastly images and ideas surfaced. Maka slowly impaled by a kishin's claw, Maka getting hit by a bus, Maka tripping over a can and chipping her nail… Maka in the arms of that cocky bastard Soul "Eater" Evans(what kind of name w_as _that anyway?), him doing unspeakables to his banana-nut cream pie.

"_MAKAAAAAA…_" He whined to himself, slowly dragging his hands down his face, coming to a stop at the corners of his mouth.

"Five days."

"Huh…?" Spirit said, surprised to see a certain maniacal scientist a few feet away from him, slowly twisting the screw in his head, omitting a soft clicking sound.

"By the way you're convulsing and making weird faces, I can tell that you're wondering how long it's been since you've seen Maka was. Five days." He said laxly pulling a cigarette out of the pocket of his lab coat and lighting it. "You're _such _a good father…"

Spirit was so steamed he couldn't get his words out straight, mumbling and cursing and muttering at his silver-haired meister. Who the hell did he think _he _was, telling him how much he loved his daughter?

"Hmm… I always wondered why you woke up so early. Now I understand – this really is quite the view." He said, taking a long drag. How Stein knew when he woke up Spirit would never know – but he was less than willing to ask. Sometimes NOT knowing how he did some of the types of things he did was better for you, and made it easier to sleep. With Stein, ignorance was bliss.

"Don't you have to go dissect a rare breed of iguana or something?" Spirit asked, pouting.

Stein exhaled some smoke. "Now why would I do that when my favorite test subject is sitting right next to me?" He asked, leaning forward on his weird swivel chair, his glasses flashing dangerously.

Spirit jumped, squeaking slightly, his eyes wide. He recovered quickly, putting on a look of indifference, turning his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Screw you, Stein." Spirit said, jumping up from his seat and stomping to the door. He would've laughed at the irony in his own joke if he wasn't so angry.

"Why would I? I've got Marie to do that." He said, grinning at Spirit's wide-eyed reaction. "Just kidding." Stein loved teasing Spirit with his relationship status with Marie. No one really knew what went on with the mad scientist and his roommate in their patchwork home, so any bit of information seemed like a treasure, but one could ever tell if any of Stein's leaks were true or not.

Spirit growled. "Whatever! I don't care what you do with your 'assistant'," He said, regarding Marie the way Stein sometimes did affectionately, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. "I've got to go see my precious Maka and make sure she's okay!"

"What makes you think she'll want to see _you_?" Stein asked sarcastically. "She nearly beats you into a coma every time you try to give her a hug."

Whether Spirit heard what Stein said didn't matter, because he'd already jumped off his balcony, falling flat on his face and getting back up, running down his driveway and out of his high-class condo.

"_MAKAAAAAAAAA_!" He screamed, causing lights on every side of the street to come on, making all of the neighbors scream profanities. "_PAPA'S COMING FOR YOU_!"

Stein simply watched without much interest, used to his partner's stupid antics, noting how Spirit had a car and didn't have to RUN all the way to DWMA, that, of course, being his first destination on the search for his daughter. After Spirit had run out of view and the angry sleep-drunken neighbors uttered their last curse words and hobbled back inside, he turned his attention back to the now-pink sunrise.

* * *

I awoke to the sunlight from the windows over the plasma-screen on my face. I began to blink the sleep away from my eyes. I was about to reach my hand up and rub them before I noticed the awkward position my arms were in.

_WHAT THE HELL?_ I thought, panicking at the position I had fallen asleep in last night. _How did my arms get around Maka? _I looked left and right, assessing the situation. I soon notice the heat coming from one of my hands, which I could only guess was holding Maka's. My face, which was already turning pink, flushed.

Before I could panic any further, I looked over and saw Maka's eyes flutter open. I quickly closed my own, feigning sleep.

_Faking sleep. How original. _I thought bitterly. _I haven't done this since I was… what, six?_

Maka got up slowly, inching her way out of my embrace and taking her hand from mine, sliding the blanket we were using back over me. I did my best not to blush as I try to shift my arms into a natural sleeping position. She left the room, closing the door softly. I heaved a sigh of relief, glad I'd gotten out of that situation when a thought slowly occurred to me – a thought that gave me a new reason to be worried.

_Maka can use Soul Perception, you idiot!_

If she could tell how far away or strong a soul was just by using it, there was no doubt in my mind that she could tell whether I was sleeping or not.

_Now just calm down Kidd…_ I thought, taking deep breaths. _Just because Maka could doesn't mean that she WOULD use it..._

I shook my head, shifting my focus to my plans for the evening. I noted how I'd been doing a lot of that lately since Maka arrived.

Maka, just like Liz and Patty, would go through what I liked to call a "After-shop Shock". After buying anything and everything a person could want, nothing really seems _new _anymore. If you buy every book ever written by your favorite author, you wouldn't have the same excitement you would if you bought each book one at a time. It's all about the _anticipation_. The same goes for a new laptop, TV, pair of boots, ect. Having one-hundred books to read seems more like a chore than a fun experience.

This applied to Maka of course. I watched from the staircase as she attempted – and failed – at trying to whole-heartedly enjoy her books on the living room couch. She'd be on one page for almost ten minutes, reading the same lines over and over most likely. Her boredom spell would last about a week, so it was time to put my plan in motion. I didn't want my guest to be bored, after all.

There was just one problem.

How could I make sure my guest wasn't bored if I was afraid to be in the same _room _with her? After our little... uh... _situation _this morning, Maka would probably think I was weird. I mean, I'm sure she could understand my arm slipping...

_Aw man, _I thought, putting my head in my hand. _How many perverts have tried to get off with THAT excuse?_

"Oh, hey Kidd." Maka said with a small smile.

_Phew... she _seems _to be acting normal enough, _I thought with a relieved sigh. "Hey. Still bored?"

"Yep. I'm assuming you have more 'plans'?" she asked with a laugh.

"Of course. I thought maybe I could teach you how to air-board."

"Air-boarding...?" she inquired, putting her hand on her chin and looking towards the ceiling. "Oh _yeah_! I forgot that was one of your hobbies(and preferred methods of transportation)!... I-I dunno. You know I don't really do sports... there's a reason I'm only on the debate team, yearbook, and student council."

"Oh, but this isn't the same as skateboarding – air-boarding is much easier, and you're less prone to end up on your face."

"I don't really..."

"C'mon Maka, please? It'll be fun."

"Heh, that sounds like something Soul would say." she said with a sigh. "Sure. I guess it won't be too bad if you're teaching me."

I somehow felt slightly annoyed at the sudden mention of Soul, but my mood lifted greatly when I heard Maka's last comment. "Great! Come with me." I said, grabbing her hand. Hm. I'd been doing a lot of that too, I guess.

I lead Maka to the garage, creating a path for her through all of her stuff first, leading her to a wall with two pictures equally distanced from each other (I would know, I'm the one who did it.).

"Oookay..." she said, looking the wall up and down apprehensively. "This is a really nice ...wall, but... what does this have to do with me learning how to air-board?"

"Just watch." I said, chuckling. I must admit, Maka's pouting face was... kind of cute. Maybe that was why Soul liked to mess with her so much...?

I slowly reached up my arm to tilt one of my prized autographed pictures of Tony Shalhoub(1), sweating and twitching as I did so.

"Kidd, are you okay?" Maka asked, looking slightly alarmed.

"Yeah, its just... these pictures... they're _so _symmetrical!" I said, now clutching my shaking arm. "They'll be completely thrown out of alignment if I move one!"

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but if I can help you I will." she said, a determined look on her face. That look was kind of cute too...

_Well THAT was an odd thought. _I though, frowning to myself.

"Kidd?"

"Yeah, you can help," I said, snapping back to reality. I appreciated how eager Maka was to help in a matter that most people would call in a psych to handle. I felt I could share everything with her. Last night was great, and I'm glad I decided to show her my kittens, letting go of that last guilty secret in the process. Leave it to Maka to turn something like loving animals into something to be proud of. I loved how happy she looked when she came home from her shopping trip yesterday too... That hug that I received wasn't that bad either...

_Ok. Back on track._ No time for... whatever that was.

"I have an idea... I'll turn around so I don't have to watch you... ugh... _shift_ that picture. There's a button behind it. Press the button, but as soon as you do, step back quickly."

"Umm, okay..." I heard a faint beeping noise.

"Good. Now step back before you get trapped back there."

"Trapped back whe– oooooohhh..." Maka said, understanding in her voice.

_Ka-shaa..._I heard a soft hiss and the sound of sliding brick. I turned around with a relieved sigh, knowing that unsymmetrical mess was now behind me.

The wall shifted, revealing a wall lit at the bottom with LCD lights. The wall was strewn with an array of air-boards of different colors, shapes and sizes. There were air-boards for beginners and intermediates – some for long distance trips, and even some for the sole purpose of popping tricks. On the right side of the wall a cylindrical tube-like case rose from the floor. A black air-board floated in the center of the tube – the one I always used. The same thing happened on the other side of the wall. I turned around and couldn't help but smirk at Maka's surprised face and dropped jaw. Yet _another _thing I'd been seeing a lot of.

"This is my collection of air boards accumulated from over the years."

"What... w-what... you have _a copy of each board?_" Maka asked, astounded, making note of how each board had a copy on the other side of the wall.

"Yep. 'Throws off the symmetry otherwise – it also conveniently provides me with a back-up board in case one breaks. My favorite board is always put into these two tubes, you see. Then, when I take a board from its place," I said, pulling one from one of the glass tubes. "an identical hologram takes its place so I don't freak out." The center of the tube began to shimmer, and in a few seconds, the board was replaced with the hologram.

"That's amazing!"

"Isn't it though? The holograms were Dad's idea."

"So... uh... do I...?" Maka asked, uncertainly.

"You do." I said with a warm smile. "Take your pick – just check the tag on the bottom of each board to make sure the board you want complies with your weight. Each board has an anti-gravity core that syncs in with your body mass so It'll know how to adjust itself when it seems like you're going to fall off. That's why air-boarding is so easy – it's all about willing your body to where you want it to go, and the board can read how far you lean forward or shift to your right if you want to make a turn."

"Wow... who came up with the design?" Maka asked, gushing over the information.

"Well, I came up with the idea from watching too many Saturday morning cartoons," I said, blushing. "But the scientists at Lead Poisoning Toy Company – our family's toy industry – were the ones that made the design, and have been working on a way to perfect the technology for years. I've been sort of a test subject for each new board that comes out – of my own will of course – since I was a child. That's why you haven't seen the board in stores. This model –" I said, indicating to the glass tube behind me. " – is the newest in the air-boarding line – the Speedster G4. As the name implies, the Speedster is the fastest model to date, able to reach speeds up to one-hundred and twenty miles per hour. Because of this it also happens to be the _safest _model."

Maka walked to the other side of the wall and pointed at my extra Speedster. "Is it okay if I use the other one?"

"Sure. Come over here and have a look at the bottom of mine and see if you can use it." I said, handing the board over to Maka so she could check her weight. I watched as she squinted at the engraved weight proportions at the bottom of the board.

"Can you read it?"

"Not _really_..." she said, squinting harder. "The writing is kind of scratched."

"Sorry. That's the model I mainly use out of the two. Take a look at the second one. I'd do it for you, but it's rude to ask a lady her weight." I said with a smile. For some reason, it kind of felt like a small victory to see her blush and utter a small "Okay" before walking towards the second board and pulling the second one out of the other tube, watching with interest as the place the board once was shimmered and left a hologram. I watched her study the proportions on the bottom of the board.

"Is it okay if the weight is a pound or more off?" she asked, tilting her head.

I winced. "Sorry... you have to be within the given range of weight or you can't use it. When I was seven the scientists at the toy factory had me test a board with a preset approximately one-pound more less than my own... I was thrown off of the board immediately and was given some really nasty scrapes. You can, but I definitely don't advise it."

"Gotcha," she said, wincing as well, turning her attention to the rest of the boards. "which one do you recommend?"

"Well, all of these boards have pros and cons, and they all carry many important memories." I said, walking along the wall. "This one," I said, pointing to an orange one shaped like a boomerang "is a prototype made for children's street-racing and making easy turns. I did my first three-sixty on this," I said, fondly, remembering when the maids clapped and made my favorite dish after my great achievement. "and this one," I said, indicating a small circular blue board with a rotating ball similar to one that could be found on the point of a pen in its center"is a transportation prototype. It's made for people who simply want a safe and easy way to get around. I always used to ask the maids if I could make the runs to the grocery store just so I could ride it," I said, closing my eyes and laughing. I stepped a few feet further, eager to bask in a few more memories. "and _this,_" I said, opening my eyes "is – "

I stopped in my tracks, staring at the board before me. It was a worn and slightly rusty sliver, beaten and weathered by my constant use. As soon as I laid eyes on it my mind flashed back to years before... back when I was innocent and hadn't realized the full responsibility that came with being the son of Death. I was six when I got this board... I stared a while longer.

_I don't want to remember this... not here... not now..._

"Kidd...?" Maka asked, now looking concerned once more.

"It's nothing... " I said, putting on the fake smile I've been accustomed to using whenever this came up. "Anyway – we're going to grab a beginner's board to get you started. Look around in the area between the thin purple board with the hot-rod flames and the wavy green board with the leaves and flowers." I said, indicating the wall to my left.

"Why do you have such a girly board, anyway?" Maka asked with a smirk.

I blushed slightly. "I had to test for a girl's line the company was working on..."

* * *

Now that Maka had chosen a board – a Speedster G3 with a skull and cross-bones in the center with a red and white polka-dot bandana on its head – we went to the kitten's alcove to feed and water them before making our way to the skate park.

I looked upon the rough concrete ramps, pools and tunnels built to rival the shabby pools of some New York skate parks. I may have mountains of money, but I go for authenticity. I _could _afford to make a skate park out of solid gold if I really wanted to, but it wouldn't feel like the real thing.

"Okay Maka," I said, leading her to a grassy area next to one of the ramps. "first we have to re-calibrate the anti-gravity core on the air-board. It's still set to my weight a from a few years ago when I got it. The board, please?" I asked. Maka handed me the board and I turned it over, flipping open a compartment on the side of the board to press the reset button within. It began to blink red.

"Okay, its ready. Hop on." I said, setting the board on the ground and stepping back.

"Wait... so that's it? Just hop on?" she asked apprehensively.

"Yep."

"O-okay." Maka said, stepping onto the board, a determined look on her face, a contradicting waver in her voice.

Maka wobbled like a newborn deer. She did her best to not look afraid, but that was _not _working. Funny that a girl who killed the strongest kishin the academy has ever faced is afraid of falling and getting a few scrapes.

_Then again, who am I to judge? I break into a sweat every time the clock on the kitchen wall gets a little lopsided. _It should be okay if I help a little...

"Maka, stop for a second." I said, patiently.

"No, I can do it!" she said, stepping off the board for the umpteenth time, clenching her fists.

"Relax, I didn't say you couldn't. Look," I said, taking her hand and leading her onto the board again. "I'll make sure you don't fall, so you can mess around safely until you get the board calibrated and the controls right," I said, looking into her eyes with a small smile. "Okay?"

She gave a small nod. "Alright."

Maka and I worked on her speed and turning for the next twenty minutes. We had a few wobbly moments, but we laughed them off and kept on going. I just kept talking to her, doing my best to calm her down. Sure the board being calibrated was always helpful, but the rider has to be completely relaxed while riding. The funny thing I noticed was that during those wobbly moments, Maka's face got sort of red. _Hmm... Must be the heat._

_I _knew _we should've brought water bottles!_

"I think I've got it!" she said after I let her go for a few moments, a wide grin on her face.

"Good job," I said, grinning, walking over to a bowl a few feet away. "Now come over here so we can work on jumps." I said, turning around, my eyes widening at an amusing sight. Maka was gliding around in circles and making all kinds of curves, that same fearful look on her face as when she was first stepping onto the board. I lifted an eyebrow. "Hey Maka, that's enough – you've about got the hang of the controls now."

"I can't!" She said panicked.

"We've practiced enough – you really don't have anything to worry abou –"

"No, I can't _stop_ – you never taught me how to stop!" she yelled, making more curves so she wouldn't fall. Suddenly Maka's chaotic curves began a collision course straight towards me.

"Maka... Maka, WAIT – OOMPH!" I uttered as she ran smack into me, falling into the bowl.

* * *

"Lord Death... LORD DEATH... " A disheveled Spirit yelled between pants, running into the Death Room. _Running_ to DWMA took _way _longer than he thought it would. He'd taken several "shortcuts", causing him to take longer than he should have. Stopping to talk every time he saw a beautiful lady probably didn't help either...

"_SHINIGAMI-SAMAAAAAAAAA!_"

"Shinigamiiiiii-CHOP!" Shinigami yelled before slamming the side of one his cartoony hands on his employee's head. He'd been having a quiet morning, and in comes Spirit yelling and screaming when he _could_ simply walk in and just _ask_ for help using his inside voice like a normal person. He already knew what he wanted. Lord Death had been waiting for the energetic red-head's visit ever since Maka and Soul came a few nights ago requesting his help. He was prepared for the onslaught of questions that he had no doubt in his mind was coming.

"Now, I want you to calm down and tell me what's wrong as soon as you do." Shinigami-sama ordered, though it didn't sound like much of an order with his cartoony voice. Spirit sat on the floor for a while, sniffling and crying and muttering about his "precious Maka". Soon his sniffles and cries turned into pouts and utterances, which turned into defeated sighs, finally smoothing over into silence. Shinigami waited a few moments before speaking.

"Are you ready to act like a big boy now?" he asked calmly, waggling a finger.

"Yes..." Spirit mumbled, sitting on the floor with his legs crossed like a child, pouting.

"I can't hear you..."

"YES!" Spirit said, louder with less attitude.

"Good. Now, Deathscythe, what's the problem?" Lord Death asked, folding his large hands on his lap as he sat in front of his coffee table.

Spirit took a deep breath. His impulsive side wanted to just scream everything that was going through his head – how could he expect Shinigami-sama to understand the undying love he had for his baby girl anyway? – but he knew that that would probably earn him another Shinigami-chop, and that hurt even more than his daughter's chops.

"...Okay... Have you seen my little girl anywhere lately?" he asked, warily, – almost sarcastically – lifting an eyebrow. " I haven't seen her in a few days and I'm worried about her."

"Was that all? Why didn't you ask sooner?" Shinigami-sama asked, playing his part and tilting his head slightly.

"Look, can you just tell me where my daughter is?" he demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes, sounding slightly impatient.

"Oh, yeah!... I have absolutely _no idea_!" Lord Death said, throwing his arms in the air happily.

"NNNAAAAAARGGG – WHERE... IS... MY... MAKAAAAAAAAA?" Spirit bellowed, sobbing in-between each word. Shinigami-sama sighed and put his face into his hand. Maka didn't have to convince him not to notify her father of her whereabouts, – knowing about Maka and her father's poor relations was enough – but he couldn't stand seeing his weapon act like this. It was just plain _pitiful. _He'd have to come up with some sort of loophole...

_I've got it!_

"Spirit, did it ever occur to you that Maka could be at _home_?" he asked tentatively. Spirit was a very strategic individual, despite popular belief – but when it comes to Maka, he had a one-track mind. Shinigami-sama heard a gasp, a puff of smoke being the only evidence that Spirit had stood before him.

"Phew... Dodged a bullet there..." he said with a sigh.

* * *

I felt something heavy land on top of me, and felt soft lips collide with mine. Maka was on top of me... and she was _kissing me_?

My head was swimming. Part of me wanted to pull away and see if she was alright, but... as clichéd as this sounds, part of me wanted time to stand still. From what I've observed from all the cheesy soap operas Liz sometimes forced me to watch with her after a break-up with someone, I'd learned a fair amount about kissing –or at least the theory of it – and to my surprise and – dare I say it – _pleasure_, Maka's face landed in the _exact angle_ it should be. For a moment I just sat there, supporting the two of us with my hands behind me sprawled on the concrete, for some reason compelled to shift myself into a more comfortable position and keep going. Maka wasn't moving either, so...

_NO! _I thought urgently, opening my eyes and sitting up quickly, tossing Maka off in the process, soliciting a surprised cry as she fell backwards on the concrete. I jumped up, helping her off of the ground. My lip was stinging slightly, but that didn't matter right now.

"Maka! Are you alright?" I asked, helping her to her feet.

"Yeah..." She said, putting her free hand to her lip. "But what about you? You've got that nasty cut on your lip!" She said, suddenly bringing her face close to mine to get a better look. My face began to burn, and I quickly put my hand over my mouth.

"I-I'M FINE!" I said, breathing heavily and backing up at least three feet. "Y-you have one too!" I said, pointing to her face.

"I'm fine – I'm the one that landed on top of _you_," she said, walking forward again and grabbing my hand.

_This can't be good for my health, _I thought desperately. _My face is probably purple right now! _It's a good thing Maka was too busy inspecting my lip to notice. "We've got to get you inside right now to treat these."

"Really Maka, it's not that serious," I said, regaining _some _of my composure. "I'm a Shinigami. I heal faster than normal humans."

She ignored me, dragging me back towards the mansion.

* * *

When we got back inside, despite my protests, Maka found a first aid kit and applied rubbing alcohol and some sort of cream to my wound while I sat on the couch. I felt like such a kid – I was probably the only one who really noticed how close our faces while we did this. Moments later Maka said she was going into the kitchen to make some snacks, and instructed me to stay where I was.

_Just like a mother... _I thought to myself warily. My mind wouldn't allow my thoughts to linger on how motherly Maka was, however.

I was turning into a _creep! _I get all excited whenever Maka is near me, and try to hold her hand every chance I get – and if THAT wasn't bad enough, my mind turned a simple accident into a... a _fantasy _with ME... AND MAKA... _KISSING... _I even tried to cop a freakign feel in my _sleep _for father's sake!

_So this is how it all begins,_ I thought, hanging my head in-between my legs. _The path of a pervert... where did I go WRONG?_

* * *

I blushed feverishly while I sliced some granny-smith apples(2) for Kidd and I's snack. Why did it have to be THAT position that we just so happened to fall into? It was already bad enough that Kidd was holding my hand so much recently(something I don't exactly have a problem with) but now there was just one more awkward event to add to the pile. Now that I think about it... WHY has Kidd been holding my so much...?

_OH MY GOSH... _I thought, my panic almost causing me to slice my own finger off(I really needed to be more careful) _Does he know...?_

If he did, then I had more to worry about than if he sees me blushing or not...

_Whatever. All I can do is "play it cool" as Soul would say, and keep doing what I'm doing – blushing and reacting to Kidd's unintentional charms as little as possible._

"Maka, do you need some help in there?" Kidd called from the living room.

"No," I said blushing... AGAIN. "I'm fine! I'll be out in a few minutes."

_This is gonna be hard..._

* * *

"WHAT... What IS THIS?" Spirit yelled, yanking his hair in front of the melted mess that was his daughter's apartment. Was someone messing with him or something? Where was his daughter?

The apartment looked like it had been in a major fire, but for some reason, only affected Maka's apartment and the ones around it. It looked like the fire started from her apartment , since it was at the center of destruction.

"Oh no..." Spirit mumbled, putting his head in his hands. "I got here too late..." he said, now on his knees, tears rolling down his face. His daughter was gone. He always took advantage of hearing her sweet voice and seeing her face... Maybe if he had been here like a good father should have, she'd be alive right now. Despite his play-boyish ways, Spirit really loved his daughter and his ex-wife, and if he'd been clearer with that and did a better job conveying it, Maka would've died knowing it was true.

He sat there a while longer, mourning his loss, sobbing out a loud "MAKAAAA!" when he had the energy. Suddenly a man passed by, looking at Spirit suspiciously.

_Must be another weirdo. _Mr. Jones thought with a sigh. He began to look around for a blunt weapon or something to use to drive the man away, but he suddenly remembered his wife's advice – _Always give the benefit of the doubt – the weirdo down the street could be the millionaire you wanna meet. _Suddenly the strange red-headed man screamed.

"MAKAAAAA~!" he sobbed.

"Um, excuse me sir..." he asked warily. "would you perhaps be looking for Maka Albarn?"

Spirit's attitude changed immediately. "My daughter? She's alive?" he asked hopefully, grabbing Mr. Jones' shirt collar.

"Uuumm, yeeeaaah..." he said, pushing himself out of the man's grasp. "First of all, who are you?"

"I'm Spirit Albarn, Maka's father!" he said, urgently, stepping closer. "Now PLEASE tell me where my little girl is!"

"Hey man, calm down, and I'll do that." The Joneses have had Maka and Soul over for tea before, and he had no idea how on-point the young girl's bitter description of her and his attitude was. From what Mr. Jones had heard, he hoped he'd never had to meet him, yet here he was. "I have _no idea _where Maka is, but I _can _tell you what happened." he said, now slightly curious of the young girl's whereabouts. He and his wife were just so angry about being woken up at three AM that they didn't even bother asking about where Maka and Soul would be staying. _I'll have to call her and figure that out later... _he thought, turning back to the matter at hand.

"Please do! As long as I know she's okay, I guess I can take a second to chat..." Spirit said, looking left and right.

"Sure..." Mr. Jones said with a sigh.

* * *

After Maka and I had our snack of granny smith apples with caramel dipping sauce(something else she must've bought at the grocery store) we got back to it with Maka's air-boarding lessons. After re-recalibrating Maka's board, the first thing I taught her to do was STOP. After about an hour, Maka got a hold of the basics and the two of us were really able to enjoy ourselves. I was even able to teach her a few tricks. As I watched her pull three-sixties, happily whooping and hollering, I decided it was time for me to spring my surprise. I hopped on Beelzebub(3) and dove into the bowl we were using for practice, riding over to her.

"Maka!" I said, flying into the air next to her, pulling a three-sixty as well and dropping back in again. "I need – " I said, coming back up for a flip. " – to talk with you – for a second!" I said, jumping out of the bowl and pulling the board from underneath me and landing on the soft grass. Maka did the same.

_Just like I taught her._ I thought, proudly.

"What's wrong?" Maka asked. "I was just about to try a Method air!" I smiled. One would think that Maka was learning tricks too quickly, but with an air-board, it was much safer and easier to pop tricks. Doing tricks took flexibility, dexterity, and concentration, and Maka had all of these already, being an experienced and well-built meister – and if she were to fall, the air-board would save her. Most importantly, Maka had finally gotten over her fear of falling once she understood that that wasn't possible when she was calm. The air-board syncs not only with your weight, but your mind and emotions. When a person is calm, it's easier for the board to read your thoughts and movements, so if you were to fall and you know that you are going to fall backwards, the board will slide under you and catch you. When a person is panicked, however, your board gets "confused"(this wasn't an AI(4) robot, so I don't like using emotional terms when talking about inanimate objects) and has issues reading your body's muscle memory. Now that she understood that and had absolutely no uncertainty whatsoever when riding or jumping twenty feet into the air, learning tricks was easy.

"Nothing much... I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you and how fast you've been learning."

She blushed. "Only because I've had such a great teacher." She said slowly. It was my turn to blush.

"Well, I thought that since you're doing such a good job that we'd take a little trip."

"A trip...? Where to?" she asked skeptically.

"Mmm... nowhere exciting really, just... Hawaii." I said with a grin. Her eyes widened.

"R-really? _Hawaii? _Wow. Thank you… but why Hawaii?" She said, giving me another hug, this time around my neck, much to my pleasure. The burning sensation in my face has almost become a norm. I grabbed her by her waist so the two of us wouldn't fall into the bowl behind her, this one slightly larger than the last one we fell in. She pulled her head from over my shoulder, not removing her arms from around my shoulders. That was okay. That gave me a plausible excuse to hold her a bit longer...

_I am not a pervert... I am not a pervert... _I chanted internally before speaking again. "I just thought that since you've gotten the hang of air-boarding that you'd like to try your hand at air-_surfing._"

"You can use them for surfing, too?" she asked, tilting her head the way that I had grown to love.

"Of course. So how about it?"

"I'd _love _to, but..." said, trailing off uncertainly.

"No bathing suit?" I asked knowingly.

"Yes, actually, but how did you –"

"I seriously doubt that a person who's house was virtually melting around them would be thinking about the next time they go to a beach. It's okay – we'll just go shopping again, and I'll come with you. I haven't been to Hawaii in a while, and my swim trunks are about six sizes too small. I don't think you want to see me in that..." I said with a laugh.

"Ew, no!" she said, joining me. Her laughter soon stopped, however, as she looked into my eyes with an almost loving softness. "Thanks so much Kid... I don't know how I'm going to thank you –"

"Please, just forget about thanking me! I want you to understand that you will never owe me _anything_," I said. Feeling a bit daring, I squeezed her waist reassuringly. "I just want you to be happy." I said, softly, causing her to blush. I pulled away from her, feeling a little sad that I couldn't hold her a bit more, and grabbed her hand, walking back towards the house. "Now come on – we've got shopping to do." I said, turning back to her and grinning, soon turning my grin into a grimace. "Hmm... THAT was a feminine statement..." I said, causing Maka to giggle.

* * *

Maka and I talked about air-boarding all the way to the Death City shopping center. She wanted to know about a few tricks she'd heard Soul and Black*Star talking about while they played Tony Hawk video games, and I was happy to explain, seeing her many different faces as I explained some of the more complicated tricks. I was happy that she'd taken such an interest in my favorite subject, and seemed to have come to love it almost as much as I do.

When we got to the mall, the first thing we did was go to the center's humungous food court to get something to eat. Maka explained to me that she didn't get to see it while she was shopping yesterday, as she was too indulged in the mall's immense Barnes and Nobles(6). After choosing from about fifty different food options, we agreed on some Wendy's. I was about to bite into my burger when I heard two very familiar voices.

* * *

Soon after Spirit's talk with Mr. Jones was over, he ran as fast as he could to Chupa Cabra's. If Blair was the one who destroyed Maka's apartment, she _had _to know where she was, right? He burst through the doors of the building with the intentions of finding Blair and getting straight to the bottom of things, but was distracted by the clusters of beautiful ladies stationed all over the main lobby. It should be okay if he took another "detour"...

"Spirit?" he heard a surprised voice cry behind him. "You usually don't come in until eight o' clock!"

Spirit turned around to see one of his favorite lady friends. Blair was special in the sense that she was always there for Spirit, and she was the one he ran to when he had problems with his daughter. Most importantly, she was probably the only woman right now(besides his mother) that he didn't really want to have any more than a friendly relationship with (though he did love staring at her body, which was great because she didn't mind at all). _No one_ would ever replace Kami, though...

"Blair, I heard what you did to my little girl's apartment, and I _demand_ that you tell me where she is!" Spirit said, trying to fit as much sternness into his voice that he could.

Blair was taken aback. "B-but... Blair doesn't _know _where Maka is..." she said, beginning to pout, her lip quivering.

"I mean it Blair, tell me where she is!" Spirit bellowed, trying to ignore the way the young woman's eyes were starting to water and the concerned eyes coming from different parts of the room.

"But I don't..."

"NOW!"

Just then, she began to hiccup and sniffle.

_Oh no..._

"Blair...?"

Sniffles turned into whining.

"Blair wait a second, I'm sorry, I –"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH~!" Blair began to wail, her ears drooping to the sides of her head sadly.

"Wait, _wait_, _WAIT_! Blair, sweetheart, I'm sorry," Spirit said, looking around frantically at the angry glares he had earned from the employees. He grabbed Blair's hand, leading her to a nearby couch and sitting down. He made funny faces and hit himself, but Blair's wails persisted. He then put his arms around her and threw his head over her shoulder, patting her back. Surprised, Blair's crying stopped.

"Blair... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I just... I just want to know where Maka is. I mean, I've been looking for her _all day_, running around and asking random people, but no one seems to know where she is. I'm at the end of my rope. I know your involvement with the destruction of her apartment was probably an accident, so please forgive me for letting my anger out on you... Forgive me?" he asked, pulling himself off of her shoulder and looking into her eyes with a small smile.

Blair stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly , giving a small smile and wrapping her arms around him. "It's okay... and I'm sorry for not putting more research into my brew." She said, pulling away from their embrace again. "...but I'm telling you now: I honestly don't know where Maka is staying. I trusted Shinigami-sama or Maka's friends to help her find a solution. I knew that as long as she was with Soul-kun, they'd figure something out. I _can_ help you look for her though." she said hopefully.

Spirit smiled. "Sure Blair. I'll need all the help I can get."

* * *

"Black*Star, _please _quiet down..." begged the soft, feminine voice. "People are staring…" I looked towards the Burger King and saw Black*Star and Tsunami. Black*Star seemed to be yelling at the employee stationed at the counter.

"NO! I want my McNuggets, dammit!" he yelled, sticking his finger in the scrawny counter-boy's face.

"But sir," he asked, his voice cracking slightly "I keep telling you that this is _Burger King_ – you get McNuggets from _McDonalds, _hence the name _MC_Nuggets."

"Are you getting _smart _with me? Are you talking back to your _god?_" Black*Star snarled.

"_N-no! _I-I'm just trying to tell you that there's a McDonalds next door, and if you want, we can –"

He suddenly grabbed the young man's shirt collar. "Listen, you, if I don't get my nuggets in the next _five minutes_, I'll beat you so badly your mother won't recognize your face when I'm done." he said with a sneer. "Now, you've got _three seconds_ before I pound your face in. One..."

"But you just said I had five minutes!" the counter-boy shrieked, panicked.

"_Two..._"

"Please, sir, if you just give me a minute we can make you some nuggets from here – " he amended quickly.

"_Three!"_ Black*Star said, bringing his fist down. I quickly sprang into action, grabbing it before it collided with the poor boy's face. He looked up at me in surprise, a grin slowly forming on his face in place of a grimace. "Maka? What are_ you_ doing here?" he asked, dropping the poor boy. "Perhaps you've come for my autograph?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, its me. Why are you harassing him?" I asked, indicating the counter boy.

"This self-righteous bastard won't give me the McNuggets I ordered!" he said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Did you not hear what the guy just said?" I asked, with a defeated sigh. "This is _Burger King – _get that through your thick skull and stop making a scene."

"_I'm_ making a scene? If nothing it's this self-righteous bastard who's making a scene!" the blue-haired ninja said loftily, indicating the whimpering counter boy crawling back to safety.

_Black*Star is the _last_ person I want to hear calling someone _else _self-righteous... _I thought incredulously.

"Who does he think he is talking to me like that ? He obviously wanted an autograph. If he really wanted one all he had to do is ask! But whatever, that doesn't matter – I WANT MY FUCKING MCNUG –"

My Maka-chop was clean and precise. I grabbed Black*Star's unconscious form and dragged him under a table, shooing the onlookers away with half-hearted "go on"s and "there's nothing to see here"s. I then walked to the clusters of tables that Tsubaki had inched off to, embarrassed at her meister's jack-assery.

"Hi Tsubaki!" I said cheerfully. I wouldn't let that little pest's methods ruin my good mood.

"Hi Maka," she said, sweat-dropping at my quick recovery.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Black*Star needed a new pair of fingerless gloves. His old ones were a bit worn out, and I was tired of his skin getting all chaffed and bruised from handling me." She said calmly. "What about you?"

I blushed. "Ah… I'll explain that later. For right now, can you come with me and help me pick out a bathing suit?" I asked sheepishly.

Tsubaki stared at me, an odd look on her face, before answering. "Sure."

* * *

After Black*Star recovered from his mini-coma, Kidd and I walked with him and Tsubaki to a store that sold sports gear. After searching for a while, we found a pair of tough fingerless gloves with a blue star in the center. They fit Black*Star perfectly, and they suited him well, so we made our purchase and left, looking for a Macy's.

On our way there, Tsubaki and I found a chance to talk, as the boys were busy bickering about Shinigami knows what. We walked ahead of them, and I gave Tsubaki the dish. I told her a little about the last few days while she ooh'd, ahh'd and giggled at some of the details. She told me to stop midway once we'd gotten to the store, saying that she had to call Liz and Patty for their advice and input.

We all walked towards teen section of the store, Tsubaki and I splitting up with Kidd and Black*Star as we went to the boy's and girl's section respectively. Tsubaki instructed me to find a booth in the dressing rooms and wait. I could hear her fiddling on her phone as she left, probably calling the twins.

She came back a few moments later with an armful of swimsuits and the Thompson sisters in her ear. She put them on speaker when the two of us sat in our booth. As soon as the twins were notified that they were on speaker, I was hit with a barrage of questions. According to them, Tsubaki had told them that something was going on between Kidd and I, and left them hanging. I explained again, this time in more detail, all of the things that had happened in our short time together. There was a lot of giggling and "awws" from the other girls. I didn't tell them about Kidd's kittens, however – it just seemed like something I needed his permission on to talk about. I also didn't mention the Death Card, being that Tsubaki wasn't in the tight-knit group of people that knew of its existence. I simply said that Kidd had given me a sack of hundred-dollar bills to pay for all the stuff. I'd have to give Liz and Patty the _real _story later.

"Somebody's in loooooove~!" Patty sang.

"Actually, I don't think that she's in love – that doesn't come until we're much older," Tsubaki said sensibly. "I'd say she's 'in like'."

"Well whatever she is, she needs to do something about it!" Liz said haughtily.

"That's just it, you guys," I said, hanging my head. "I don't _know _what to do about it! I value Kidd and I's relationship, and I want him to know how I feel, but I don't want to ruin the relationship that we've built over our time together. I want to know if he likes me back." I said, lifting my head once again, looking into Tsubaki's eyes.

"I thought you'd say that," Tsubaki said, grabbing the pile of swim suits. "so I grabbed these." I looked at some of the swimsuits, shocked. Most of them were _bikinis_, and the few that weren't had slits all over the place, revealing clumps of skin.

"Woah, woah, woah, I can't wear _those_," I said, incredulously.

"Why not?" Tsubaki asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, why not?" Liz asked over the phone. "Patty and I helped Tsubaki pick those out! She texted us pictures of the suits while you were waiting."

"It's just… it's just that… I don't really – " I fumbled.

"SPIT IT OUT!" Patty yelled, surprising us all.

"I'M NOT COMFORTABLE WITH MY BODY, OKAY?" I almost yelled. An awkward silence filled the room. I tentatively picked up from where I left off.

"I've never worried about it before, but next to you three beach-bunnies, I'll look like a six-year old! Its easier for you to just tell me to just 'buy a bikini', but for someone with a flat chest like mine, It's hard to wear something that shows so much skin without feeling at least a _little _conspicuous!" I said, embarrassed. A few moments passed. The three of them started laughing.

I was furious. "REALLY guys? I pour my heart out to you and you guys _laugh_?" Just then, Tsubaki stopped laughing long enough to answer.

"Oh, Maka, we're not laughing at _you_ – well, not exactly."

"It's just… it's funny how you don't know how _good of a body _you have!" Liz said, jumping in. My jaw dropped.

"W-what do you mean?" I asked, utterly confused.

"I'm not surprised that you don't know! I've heard guys at school talking about how _fine _your legs are," Liz continued, purring the last few words.

"Yeah," Tsubaki agreed, grinning. "not only are you smart, but you've got the cutest figure – you're really slender, and despite what you think and what Soul keeps telling you, your breasts _have _grown since our first year at DWMA."

I blushed a deep shade of red as all of this sunk in. I got up and looked at myself in tall mirror on the wall of the dressing room. Was I _really _growing like my friends told me, or were they just trying to flatter me?

"Listen, Maka, we only want to help," Liz said whole-heartedly. "If Kidd doesn't like you, we're going to make sure that he does, or at least _notices _you and puts it into consideration."

"We're your friends," Patty chimed in. "we'd _never _laugh at you, and we'll always be there for you."

I felt my eyes begin to water, along with a new sense of confidence.

"Thanks guys," I said gratefully. "Let's get started."

* * *

As I tried on some swim trunks, Black*Star stood by outside my changing booth, the two of us discussing theories on what the creature only known as "Excalibur" could be. We both reasoned that he _could _be a penguin, or some bird of the sort, or maybe an alien. When we ran out of theories, Black*Star asked about how my week with Maka was going, commenting that any guy that wasn't Soul that could spend an entire week with her was a saint. I explained the events and odd feelings that I'd been having around her, how I felt I could share secrets and hold a conversation with her easily, my perverted thoughts, everything(except the info about my kittens and the Death Card). Black*Star remained reasonably level-headed when discussing things with me. I found that between him and Soul, I had a better relationship with my teal-haired friend. We both had a seemingly unspoken respect of each other's power, and after our little encounter with the Enchanted Sword Excalibur, we'd talked more. When I finished talking, he was silent.

"Well, I think it's obvious that you like her." he said matter-of-factly.

I was completely taken-aback. "_WHAT_? What makes you say that?"

"Well, you wanted to kiss her, you blush when you hold her hand, and you can't stop thinking about her – even _I _can tell what you're feeling for her! Did you really think that you were a pervert?" he asked with a laugh.

I must admit, Black*Star's analysis _did _make sense – the sweaty palms, my burning face, – as girly as this sounded – the butterflies I got whenever I saw her, and most importantly, how I was happy when she was happy. I felt sort of stupid for not figuring this out on my own.

"Look man, _relax _– every guy thinks that way when he likes someone, especially when that person has to spend a month living in close-quarters with them. I feel that way about Tsuba –" Black*Star stopped suddenly. I heard a slapping sound, probably his hand clasping over his mouth. I wasn't surprised in the least. Everyone knew that he and Tsubaki had a thing for each other – everyone _except _Black*Star and Tsubaki.

"Don't worry, we all know about that anyway," I said nonchalantly, stepping out of my stall and waving my hand dismissively, ignoring his dropped jaw.

After a moment he sighed and took a seat on a couch in the main room of the dressing rooms. I sat next to him, sighing as well. Suddenly I had an idea.

"Hey… maybe we can help each other out. Do you and Tsubaki have anything to do for the rest of this week and next week?"

"Um …no, why?" he asked, skeptically.

"Why don't you and Tsubaki come with us? I'll cover all travel fees, food cost, and where you'll be staying – and while we're there, I can help you with Tsubaki, and you can help me with Maka. Even if the two of us aren't really experienced in this field –"

"Who you callin' inexperienced?" he asked defensively. I ignored him.

" – we can at least keep each other from backing out from… whatever it is that we plan to do. Are you in or not?" I asked, noticing how Black*Star was still angry about my last comment. He thought for a while, mulling over my question.

"…Yeah. 'Sounds like a plan to me – it'll be good to have a spotter, especially when we're going into _this _type of uncharted territory."

I couldn't help but smile at Black*Star's choice of words.

* * *

When Black*Star told Tsubaki the good news, she squealed and hugged Kidd, expressing her thanks generously. I was glad I would have back-up in my pursuits – Liz and Patty wouldn't be able to join us. We would be in Honolulu, and their family reunion was in Kauai. It would take about twenty minutes to get there by plane, but they didn't get to see all of their family members very often, didn't want to miss out(their parents excluded of course – I didn't know much about the twin's relationship with them, but considering they were running the streets before Kidd took them on as his partners, I could tell it wasn't good. )

Kidd and I said our goodbyes, reminding them of our time of departure tomorrow(We all agreed that leaving _as soon as possible _would be fine) and waited for our chauffer to arrive.

When Kidd and I had packed and went through our usual routines, we sat down on the couch of the Rec Room. We agreed that watching an entire movie wouldn't fare well on our energy – we were leaving bright and early the next day. Booking a flight wasn't a problem – Kidd had a private jet and he and his father owned an entire airline, so despite how messily thrown together our plans were, things would work out.

Kidd and I watched _SNL(5)_, laughing at _The Lonely Island's(6)_ newest single. It was cold, so I got up and grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around the two of us. After a while, I found that I was _still _freezing, despite the fact that Kidd had given up more than half of his share of the blanket. I hoped that he wouldn't notice but he did, tapping my shoulder.

"You uh… look a little cold there." He asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, it's no big deal though…"

"Um… d-do you want to… ah… I-I can keep you warm…" he asked, blushing. "I mean, if you want to…" he said, patting the space in-between his legs. "I-I'm not trying to be a_pervert _or anything," he amended quickly. "I just though, you know, body-heat, and whatnot…"

I laughed. That was Kid – always worrying about other people's well-being. He was always acting like a big-brother to me, opening doors and pulling chairs. I sat in the space indicated, making myself comfortable, more than happy to be in such close contact with him. I took in the scent of his freshly washed body. He used axe. He slowly wrapped his arms around me, trying not to touch my breasts, or any other awkward ways his hands could possibly slip. 'Funny how only Kid could do this with me – any other guy would get a Maka-chopped without a second thought, but he was… different. I knew his intentions weren't bad.

For a while, Kid twitched around a bit. He was probably trying to make himself comfortable, which was hard, being that you have an entire person taking up a lot of your space.

"You know you can put your head on top of mine if you're uncomfortable, Kid." I said re-assuredly.

"O-okay…" He said, resting his chin on the top of my head lightly. After a while, his head got a bit heavier. He was getting tired. I was feeling the weight of our busy day affect me as well, my eye-lids beginning to droop.

It could have been me, but I thought I felt Kid's hand twitch, causing them to brush up against my own. Using my Soul Perception, I could tell he was awake, but just barely. Was he trying to make a move on me…?

…_No way, _I thought after mulling it over. _now I'm just getting ahead of myself._

What the heck? I might as well. I took his hands in mine, elated to know that Kidd was doing this consciously – at least _half _consciously – instead of in his sleep.

"Hey Maka?" he mumbled sleepily, after we'd turned the TV off, too tired to get up and crawl into our own beds.

"Yeah?"

"You could tell I was awake this morning, couldn't you." he asked.

"Yup." I replied, groggily. I was too sleepy to ask _why _he'd done that – I figured he'd done that so I wouldn't feel awkward. I explained this.

"Y-yeah… that's what I was doing…"

Too tired to answer, I closed my eyes and let the steady sound of Kidd's heartbeat lull me to sleep.

:~:~:~:~:~

**(1)Tony Shalhoub: The star of the sitcom ****_Monk. _****The character he plays has OCD just like Kidd, so I'd imagine him wanting his autograph!**

**(2)Granny-smith apples: Another name for green apples. I just wanted to throw that in there in case people had different names for them or something...**

**(3)Beelzebub: The name of Kidd's skateboard/air-board. Its named after a demon that's supposed to be the son of the devil or something like that.**

**(4)AI(robot): AI stands for "artificial inteligence" - in this case, Kidd is saying that his air-board wasn't a robot that could think or feel, so being the very logical person that he is, he didn't really feel like adressing it as such.**

**(5)****_SNL_****: Short for ****_Saturday Night Live_****, a popular comedy show filmed live in New York city every Saturday night.**

**(6)****_The Lonely Island_****: Every show, Saturday Night Live has a bit called the "Digital Short" in which a musical group called ****_The Lonely Island _****sing a comical song, their most popular singles being "I'm On a Boat" and "I Just Had Sex".**

**Next Chapter**

**Kidd, Maka, Black*Star and Tsubaki arrive safetly in Hawaii, taking in the beautiful scenery and the wonderful scent of the ocean. Kidd and Maka's excitement is short-lived, however, when they find out about their awkward sleeping arrangement. Meanwhile in Death City, Spirit hasn't slept in twenty-four hours, spending every waking moment looking for his little girl. Against his good judgement, he asks Stein if he knows anything about Maka's whereabouts and is surprised to find that he may have a lead. His problem? Some of the things Stein wants to make him do for that information is less than pleasent.**

**Ooookay, onto the questions!**

**I have two questions from the reviewer Dennou Writer:**

**Question 1: ****_"Rain in the desert?"_**

**The sun and moon have faces and Maka's cat can talk and has magical powers. Soul has shark teeth and one of their teachers is a zombie. To be honest, I think rain in the desert is possible in the type of world the Soul Eater cast lives in.**

**Question 2:****_ "How can Kidd surprise Maka if she's almost a living radar?"_**

**Being that Maka is in a relaxed environment and most likely feels very safe since she's around Kidd, she probably doesn't feel that she has to use Soul Perception.**

**Thanks again to everyone thats read and reviewed my chapter. Oh, and you guys, I've been asking you all to message me your ideas, or just to message me to tell me about yourselves, but I've never offered you to tell you about MYSELF. I think I'm going to add a section for personal questions in the end of each chapter, soooo, if you want, you can leave a question for me in a review, and I may pick two or three to answer :). Now, I'm letting you know ahead of time that I am NOT going to tell you where I live, or any other personal stuff like that, though I may reveal my age and some other info that isn't potentially harmful to my safety.**

**AAANYWAY, leave reviews~**

**...or I'll take your ****soul****.**


	6. Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

**To skip the appologies on why I was gone so long, I've written a 12,488 word long one-shot for you guys, purely MaKidd goodness. Its called "The Death of the Party". I know you probably don't want to know why I haven't updated, because everyone has their own problems, so I'm not going to spend a whole paragraph on excuses. I just wanted to say how sorry I am, and to thank those faithful first readers, and the late-comers, for not harassing me and patiently awaiting my return :D. I love you guys! You ROCK!**

**A/N: Rated T for teen for cursing and just to be safe.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, THE SERIES, ANIME, MANGA, OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OR MERCHANDISE, ECT. ****_I do own the storyline of this fanfic, however._**

* * *

**A Month In the House of Death**

_by RapozaTeRa(formerly Samurai Tsundere)_

**Chapter Six:**

**Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder**

* * *

_She was angry. Not just normal angry like when her magazines arrived in the mail late or when her roast was stuck in the oven with no means of opening it. No. This was something different. Two hours ago she had gotten off the phone, nearly breaking its base as she slammed the mouthpiece. She'd paced the living room, picking up things here and there in an attempt to seem busy as she mumbled under her breath. Phrases like "useless man" and "the last straw" could be heard as she peeked in on the scene from her slightly cracked doorway. After a few minutes of this, the older woman made her way to the kitchen, slamming doors and cabinets, and had been there ever since. The little girl warily crept into the kitchen, deciding, if asked, that she would claim she was in there for a glass of water. It was far past her bedtime and in no way was she supposed to be awake, but she had to investigate._

_She walked towards her mother, now washing dishes, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for the plates and cups that even from a distance could be seen with thin cracks because of how rough they were being handled. Upon closer inspection, she also noticed the hot and angry tears forming in her eyes._

"_Mommy," the little girl asked quietly, watching her flinch at the mention of her name. Upon seeing her daughter, her frustrated expression became soft, almost apologetic. She sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head._

"_Baby, what are you doing up?"_

"_I..." she began quietly, her hands going behind her back to fiddle with her thumbs. Her mother sighed again, visibly not believing whatever story her daughter was about to tell her before it even left her mouth. She turned back to the dishes when she spoke up again._

"_Mommy, what happened?" She froze midstride, turning to her daughter slowly. She was so innocent... so small. Slowly, she got on her knees and gripped her arms firmly, her emerald eyes boring into her daughter's forest-green ones. In tem she saw pain, anger, fear._

"_Sweetheart, I want you to promise Mommy something," Soundlessly and a bit scared, she nodded, listening intently._

"_Never, under any circumstances, are you to trust a man."_

"_Not even Papa?" The little girl asked incredulously, eyes growing even wider._

_She shook her head, getting back up and returning to the task at hand._

"_Especially Papa."_

_:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~_

* * *

"_Spirit-kuuuuun_," Blair whined, stopping for a moment, shielding her eyes from the sunlight with her arm. "I'm _tiiiiiired_~!"

"Yes, Blair," Spirit panted, glancing back at the young woman behind him warily. "You've made sure to remind me _every five minutes_." His sighs had gone from exhausted puffs of air to impatient hisses. He tried to breathe in the sweet morning air, looking towards the almost fully-risen half-asleep sun and the yellow-orange sky in a weak attempt at staying calm and enjoying his morning. This is what Spirit normally did when something was wrong(when he wasn't crying or gouging out his hair) – enjoy the scenery, taking in the little things that people take for granted when they walk down the street. The chirping of the birds, the sound of the wind rustling in the trees, the gleam from the morning dew on the grass... It was all very nice, yes, but today wasn't a normal day, nor a normal circumstance, and he and Blair _certainly _hadn't been enjoying a leisurely stroll– they were climbing yet another of the dozens of flights of steps leading to Spirit's condo near the top of Death City, a short fifteen-minute drive away from Lord Death's(or rather, his son's) mansion.

Spirit and Blair had spent an entire twenty-four hours looking for Maka, Blair joining his search after he burst into her workplace, promptly demanding her whereabouts. They searched high and low, and asked random DWMA students, as well as regular passerby if they knew where she was. No dice. They would have gone longer had the bartender at the bar in the employee's lounge at Chupa*Cabra's not demanded that they go home.

The older man had watched the odd pair walk in and out of the lounge every few hours, and after their third or fourth visit, he couldn't help but ask what they were doing. Once their breaks – which they took every three hours – reduced to an hourly affair, he began to run out of coffee, and told them that enough was enough. They dutifully refused of course, wanting to continue the search, but when he noticed how the strange red-head and busty babe jerked their heads and fell asleep in their coffee, he felt obligated to call a shuttle to get them home. Spirit had no problem with allowing Blair to share his home, being that her current living quarters lay in ruins, and it was the least he could do with all of the help she was giving.

Sadly, even after the shuttle had brought them all the way home, the two of them still had to climb countless flights of stairs and sloped streets. Spirit's gated community was very classy – only the richest and most powerful families in Death City lived there. The houses were all built into the side of the city's mountain-like frame. This, along with the exquisite architecture of each building made it resemble a Greek village. When Spirit entered the pass codes to the entrance of the community, Blair gawked at the beautiful scene before her. She couldn't help but wonder why Maka didn't want to live _here _instead of she and Soul's little apartment, but reminded herself how her face turned sour every time her father was mentioned.

Now that the little girl was on her mind, Blair reflected on the past few days, and how much trouble and inconvenience she'd brought upon everyone, especially Maka and Soul. She really hadn't meant for her brew to be that strong. It had worked _perfectly _when she tested it...

_Perhaps I shouldn't have tested it in the city dump... _She thought with a frown, remembering how she'd sprayed the brew over every bit of garbage she could reach, and returning to the dump the next day, not a trace of the piles of filth in sight. Now that she thought about it, she'd really only tested it on _filth_, not on regular materials. It was her fault for making the super acid that destroyed her home, and put those that she cared for in danger.

Blair normally didn't feel guilty about _anything_ – she worked at a brothel. There wasn't much _time _for guilt. Her job was all about the here and the now(and the visit to the clinic that came afterwards if she suspected anything from a particularly sleazy customer). She knew this, yet she couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself. Her mind returned to the night it all happened, after she'd leapt out the window when she heard sizzling and noticed chunks of the kitchen counter missing. She felt terrible when she'd gotten to safety, realizing that she hadn't even taken the time to warn her owners of the impending danger.

_How could I be so selfish...? _She thought to herself, staring at the front of the apartment, moon beams reflecting off the satellite dish on the roof, reluctantly inhaling the smell of burning materials. She couldn't believe that she even had internal conflict on what should be done – should she go inside and warn her kind benefactors, or run off, saving her own hide, and hoping that they'd come out alright?

_The choice should be obvious! _Blair's legs were glued to the spot, and she was so flustered she couldn't utter a single spell that could stop it all. Soon, she heard a loud slam and the sound of voices. The knot in her throat tightened. That could have been someone falling and hurting themselves... That could have been _Maka or Soul _falling and hurting themselves! Making a quick decision, she hurled herself through the bushes, ready to face whatever obstacles in her way.

When finally got through all the leaves and branches, Soul, Maka, the Joneses, and the rest of the neighbors were outside, looking rather confused and _very _pissed, but unharmed. She then took the opportunity to run away, the knowledge that her owners were ok giving her legs the strength the needed. It wasn't until she was halfway to Chupa*Cabra's that she noticed she hadn't found out where they were staying.

Now, with Spirit-kun by her side, she had a second chance. She would find Maka and Soul, and apologize for all she'd done... or at least, that was the plan initially. Oh, don't get her wrong; She still wanted to _find _them and actually _apologize_... she just didn't see herself climbing almost _two miles _of stairs in hooker heels. Now _that,_ in Blair's opinion, was definitely harder than killing Asura and Arachne combined. And _of course _she had to go ahead and leave her magic broomstick in the cab, too? Great. Freaking marvelous.

Blair was a fraction of a second away from jumping on Spirit's back in her cat form and demanding he carry her the rest of the way when she bumped into his broad and slender back. Backing up, a bit confused, she realized that they had made it to the condo. Blair's mouth opened and closed like a fish's stepping under the elegant marble arches of the cherrywood double-doored entrance into the mosaic-tile foyer.

_The foyer,_ she thought with a bewildered inward chuckle. _His _condo _has a freaking _foyer! He led her through several halls and ornate staircases with elaborate lattice patterns in its rails and over ancient-looking carpets and polished beechwood floors. Wow. How long had he been living like this? Now Blair _really _wondered why she didn't live with her father. If it was about her wanting to keep a distance with him, she had almost half-an-acre of house to separate them. All she'd have to do is get a room on the other side of the house and they were golden.

_Then again, no distance would keep Spirit away from his daughter._ She thought with a giggle. Looking slightly curious, Spirit slowed his long strides, turning around to the young woman warily.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing..." She said with another giggle. Spirit wasn't buying it.

"No, really, what's up?"

Well, there was a thing or two on her mind. 'Might as well go for it.

"Spirit-kun, I don't mean to come off as _rude_ or anything, but... _How?_ How can you afford –" She gestured wildly to their surroundings. " – all this?"

Spirit chuckled, well practiced at answering this very question. "Being Shinigami's right-hand man comes with its perks."

OK. Understandable. But there was more.

"Ok... so why is it called a 'condo' when this place makes a regular house look like a hole in the wall?"

"I understand your reasoning, but let me explain. You see, I'm not this place's only resident. All of Shinigami-sama's weapons live here once they become deathscythes. This house is sectioned off into different 'apartments' of sorts." Blair gasped once more when Spirit opened yet another set of double-doors that led into a hallway, mirrors of every shape and size imaginable covering every bit of the wall's surface. "When you reach a mirror hall like this one, you know that you're exiting one section and going into another. Look up: We're leaving Marie's section."

Following Spirit's instructions, Blair turned her gaze skyward. A large marquee**(1)** blinked over the double-doors, displaying the message:

**NOW LEAVING: MJOLNIR RESIDENCE**

"Huh," Blair uttered shakily. "can't believe I didn't notice that before." This was too crazy. Why wasn't she invited over more often? Still, there was one thing that still bothered her...

"Spirit, you said we just left Marie's 'condo' right?"

"Right."

"And now we're leaving Justin's..."

"Oh," He glanced at the marquee over yet another set of double-doors. "Yeah, why?"

"All the while we were walking through his apartment, Blair didn't actually _see _Mr. Law. Where is he?"

"Ah, now we get to the _really _confusing part. Shinigami went ahead and built this entire establishment to suit the needs of his employees, suiting us up with saunas and tennis courts and underground bowling allies, but really, besides the maids, we're the only two people in this entire house."

Blair's jaw dropped. "_What?_"

Spirit nodded. "That's right. Since Justin's stationed in Europe, he only visits on occasion, and doesn't actually _live _here. The same goes for Marie since she chooses to live with Stein. Amongst all of these barely-furnished 'apartments' are completely untouched and unused ones as well for future deathscythes. I know, I don't understand it either." He said, sweat-dropping at Blair's expression.

"Anyway, since the house is sectioned off, has more than one floor, and we have a mail room for all of the residences, Lord Death refers to this as a condo, or apartment complex." Bumping into Spirit once again as she craned her neck to admire the many different mirrors, Blair came to a stop. They'd reached the end of the hall and were now at another set of double-doors, the marquee above this door broadcasting "**NOW ENTERING: ALBARN RESIDENCE**".

Blair noticed the difference in Spirit's apartment the moment she set foot inside. It wasn't different in a _drastic _way: Just a stack of magazines here, a pair of shoes there. For lack of a better word, it looked... _lived in_. Not dirty or run-down, but littered with little signs of life that showed that the apartment received _some _use.

Despite the mirror halls that separated each suite, Spirit's dwelling was easily larger than that of a professional athlete or celebrity's. It had the same layout as the other apartments: Loft, five-star kitchen, sweat-lodge – the works. This one, to Blair's surprise, came with a balcony as well.

"We're almost there," he said, leading Blair up some stone-stairs a rustic-looking open-air hallway**. **Spirit wasn't surprised to hear the intake of breath behind him. He had the same reaction when he had his first view of the desert's skyline through the hand-carved pane-less windows. They were just making the sunrise, the great ball of fire already beginning his assent, huffing and smacking his lips in attempt to wake. He grabbed Blair's hand, gesturing to the door at the end of the hall. "hurry, or we'll miss it!"

Nodding earnestly, Blair made a beeline for the door, giggling at Spirit's goofy running style.

The two burst into the doors laughing and panting. Blair glanced around Spirit's bedroom, taking in the familiar smell of Old Spice. Blair glanced at Spirit, surprised to find him blushing.

"I-I didn't mean, to, - ah, - y'know..."

"What? Didn't mean to what?"

"Ah... you're in my bedroom..."

"Uh-huh...?"

"I didn't want to do anything _perverted_, just –"

Blair rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. The balcony is over there," She indicated to a set of cherry-wood doors. "I _trust _you Spirit-kun. Why the heck do you think I've gone through hell-in-a-hand basket and followed you this far? I wouldn't do that with anyone else. It's the first thing we learn in our new employee's training at CC's**(2)**: Never follow a random man _anywhere _no matter how much money he offers."

Spirit lifted both hands in mock-surrender. "Ok, ok – just didn't want another sexual harassment charge..."

"Another...?"

Spirit walked to the doors, and with a flourish, indicated to the balcony. "Here you are my lady: the finest view in all of – _Stein_?"

There, watching the sunset from the same spot as he was yesterday morning sat Stein, taking slow drags from his cigarette. Glancing at the odd pair, he gave a lazy grin.

"Good morning, Professor Stein." Blair gave a respectful bow to the veteran meister.

"Mornin' to you too Blair – its good to see you again. Are Maka and Soul treating you ok?"

"Certainly!" She said cheerily, giving another bow.

Spirit was at a loss for words, looking back and forth between the casually conversing pair. "What the hell are you doing? Don't bow to that... that... that _intruder!_" he yelled, pointing a finger in the scientist's face.

"Good morning to you too. You know, you really need to quiet down – this is why all of your neighbors hate you."

Blair stepped back a bit, knowing how Spirit's tantrums worked. She found a nice seat on the sidelines and just watched his anger unfold instead of jumping into the thick of it.

"My neighbors don't – what – What are you even _doing _here, Stein? You do realize that this is _my _house right? Mine, MINE, _MINE_!"

"Its my house just as much as it is yours, deathscythe. Don't get your panties in a twist."

Spirit stopped for a moment, his face white as a sheet. He sighed, slumping down into the lawn chair next to Stein, looking spent. "Shit."

Blair's eyebrow arched. "Um, excuse me, but... what just happened?"

Turning on his chair slightly, Stein regarded the young woman with serene smile.

"You don't think Lord Death wouldn't have housing units for the talented individuals who made his weapons what they are, do you?" He took another puff of his cigarette. "Naturally this living arrangement suits pairs best. Just like in the academy, all active weapon-meister pairs have to live together, in most cases, for the rest of their lives."

"But you live with Ms. Marie."

"I do. But that doesn't mean I don't have just as much access to this house as I would if I didn't."

"You weren't the one that made Spirit-kun a deathscythe, though. Wasn't that –"

"KAMI!" Spirit wailed pitifully. "HONEY I LOVE, YOU, PLEASE _BELIEVE _ME! –"

"Yeah..." Spirit facepalmed in spite of his incredibly stupid partner. "I may not have helped him achieve the final kishin-eggs and witch's soul, but I played a part in getting him to where he is now, and that, in Shinigami-sama's eyes is enough. So," He said, turning to the two of them, his hands on the back of his chair. "what are you two up to? Did you get to see Maka?"

At the mention of his daughter's name, Spirit's head whipped around like a dog's at the mention of treats. "Maka...? MAKA? MY SWEET _BABY_, WHERE _ARE _YOU?"

"Aw man..." Blair hissed, turning to Stein. Her face looked tired, spent."He's been doing that _all day_. _Don't _mention..." She glanced at the writing, crying, pitiful mess on the floor a few feet away. "... _her _name. It takes too much to get Spirit-kun focused again."

He turned his gaze skyward, the sun almost at it's apex. "What if I told you... that I might know where Maka is?"

Blair was about to speak, but was cut off by Spirit, his hands finding place on the collar of Stein's lab coat, shaking him violently.

"'I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHERE MY–"

With a flick of his pinkie, Spirit flew several feet away from a very bored-looking Stein, nearly falling over the railing.

"Two things. One: Don't. Touch. The lab coat. I just got it cleaned. Two: Do you honestly think I can tell you what I know if you keep talking? Shut up. Really." Spirit looked like he wished to say more, but did as he was told. _Anything_ to get to his little girl... "Okay. _Good_. Now, regarding Maka's whereabouts, my... ah... _informants _have told me that she's about to take a flight out of Arizona."

"_What? Why _would she want to do that? Where is she going? WHO IS SHE GOING _WITH_?"

"Hey, hey, calm down... Now, I ah... _would _give you that information, but things are a bit foggy. Why don't you help me jog my memory, hmm?" He grinned wide, his glasses gaining that dangerous, blinding glint.

Spirit's face paled once more. That was the look. The look that brought his life into an even deeper level of hell every time he saw it. It was the look that he saw during his final exams when he didn't have the answers and needed a little "help". It was the look that he received as he desperately begged info on his ex-wife before they started going out, the look, only topped by Stein's expression when he succame to the madness, that scared Spirit the most. The look sent shivers down his spine and gave him the sudden unconscious urge to empty his bladder.

The look that could only mean things were going to get _very _difficult.

Spirit gulped. If not for his darling daughter, he would've turned tail and ran by now.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked shakily, not even trying to put on his brave face.

Stein chuckled, snapping his fingers and pointing to the floor. "On your heels, dog."

"Yes, master..." Spirit sighed, sitting. Role-playing. If this was what he wanted, he knew the routine. At least it wasn't in front of mass amounts of people, like last time. _How on earth did I end up with such a sick bastard of a partner?_

"Dogs don't talk. Be a good boy and bark for me."

"Oh my... _really?_"

"Funny, I _still _don't remember where Maka is..."

"_Fine_." Spirit grumbled, getting up on his "haunches". "Arf. Woof. Bow-wow."

"Aww, Is my faithful companion _sad_? That wasn't very enthusiastic barking." He pouted, flicking some of the butt off his almost-finished smoke. "If _you're _sad then _I'm _sad. And when I'm sad, I'm _really _bad at remembering things. I may have to perform a few... _experiments _as a pick-me-up."

"W-WOOF! ARF! RUFF-RUFF!" Spirit pranced on all fours, painting enthusiastically and sticking his butt in the air, giving it a little wiggle. Blair would have laughed if she didn't feel so sorry for him, and the repercussions so dire.

"_Good boy. _Now shake," Putting out his "paw", Spirit obeyed. Stein pointed his index finger, making little circles.

"Now roll over."

His hands and feet in the air, Spirit flipped on his back, popping up enthusiastically once he was done, still barking and panting like an idiot. Stein pointed his index finger once more, making it in the shape of a gun this time.

"Bang!"

Spirit rolled on his back, feigning death, his tongue lolling out of his mouth dramatically.

"Good. Now..." Stein pulled something out of his pocket: a large dog biscuit. Placing it in front of Spirit on top of his hands, who, after the sudden movement, was now back in a sitting position, gazing up at his "master" in starry-eyed mock adoration, he grinned at his new pet in satisfaction.

"Hold it."**(3)**

Spirit raised an eyebrow. This was it? _Hold it? _Sure, the trick was demeaning(hell, the fact he had him doing tricks at _all _was demeaning) but it could have been worse. Maybe he was growing tired of his little game.

After a few moments Stein clapped cheerfully. "Alright, good job..." the glint returned to his glasses.

_Oh shit..._ Spirit thought helplessly.

"Now eat it."

"You heard me, Rover. Eat it. Its liver-flavored. I picked it out _just _for you."

Spirit grimaced as he brought the gritty cookie to his nose for a whiff. It smelled like someone had stuck his face into a sewage pipe. Stein couldn't be serious. He didn't really want him to _eat _this did he?

"_I_ _don't have all day. _You're wasting my time if you're going to just sit there and do nothing."

Blair was at his side in a moment, kneeling down to his level to look him in the eyes. "C'mon Spirit-kun , you have to do this, or... or... you'll _never see Maka again._"

That did it. As much as Blair didn't want to dramatize everything and just find Maka and get some sleep, Spirit needed a push, and if this was the only thing that would get him going, then so be it. She saw the fire in his eyes immediately. Spirit put on his determined face and grabbed the gruesome snack, pinching his nose and taking a bite. His eyes widened in shock ; if he said it _smelled _like a sewer, it tasted ten times worse. The taste was indescribable, and the fumes went from his throat through his nose, nearly burning all the hairs away. He chewed as quickly as possible, opening his mouth as wide as he could to wane the horrifying taste.

Stein didn't look amused. "Stop."

Spirit threw his hands up incredulously, his mouth still full of food. "What is it _now?_"

"I want to make sure that my lovable mutt is enjoying my little gift. Chew it slowly. _Savor _the _taste_."

Spirit shuddered, but did as he was told. His chewing came to a sickening halt, then picked back up, slower, this time, a tear escaping his eyes every once in a while. He swallowed, panting.

"Hah... hah... THERE. I ate it you sickwad..."

"All of it, hound."

His jaw dropped. "_All of it?_" Stein nodded.

Hissing a obscenity, Spirit digressed. After five minutes of reluctant chomping and smacking, he downed the last bit of the livery snack. Stein, who'd grown rather bored after the first five bites, gave a broad grin, slowly clapping in appreciation of the pitiful spectacle his former partner had made of himself.

"Very good. I'm satisfied... for now," Sweat dripped freely from every pore in his body. How wrong he'd been for thinking it was over for even a moment. "so as promised, you'll get the information you seek." Walking over to the edge of the balcony, Stein tossed the butt of his cigarette on the floor, killing the tiny embers with the bottom of his shoe. He pulled out another from his seemingly endless supply from the pocket of his patchwork lab coat, lighting it quickly with his Zippo.

Staring off into the horizon, he continued. "My sources indicate that today, at exactly eleven thirty, Maka is to board a one-way flight to Hawaii."

Spirit's jaw hit the floor. "_Hawaii? _What could she possibly be doing out there?"

"Sand? Surf? If you ask me, I have absolutely no idea. I _may _have an idea of _who _she's going with. I haven't seen or heard any of Black*Star's self-promotions of being able to 'surpass God' all day, and, assuming the amount of time the two spend together, and the fact that he isn't going anywhere without Tsubaki, I can guess those two are with her. I've also been informed that she'll be flying private. There's only one private airline in all of Death City, and tickets are unbelievably expensive. The airline will only accept the richest of the rich, or Shinigami himself. Obviously Lord Death can't leave the academy, so it should be obvious who her other travel companion is."

Spirit scratched his head in confusion. "Hmm... is Neil Patrick Harris in town again...?"

Stein facepalmed. "_No _you _idiot_: Kidd. Death the Kidd. The _only other shinigami in existence._ Apparently he's the one who booked the flight, and he's the one that Maka's been staying with all this time."

This time Spirit wasn't the only one left with a hanging jaw. "So Maka-chan's okay then!" She said with a happy leap and a giggle. Spirit looked back and forth between his two companions.

"_Okay? _She's been in a house, _alone, WITH ANOTHER BOY? _MY POOR –"

"Oh, c'mon, she's got Liz and Patty with her..."

"Actually, the Thompson sisters left for Hawaii the day after Maka went missing." Spirit continued his angry ramblings, ignored by the leisurely conversing pair. "Though she can't be going there to visit _them _because her flight is headed for Honolulu and the twins are in Kauai. Unless they plan on meeting halfway or something..." Blair's eyes widened, almost forgetting to ask about a very vital piece of information.

"But what about Soul-kun? Where is he? _Is he even alive?_" She was latched onto Stein's lab coat now, shaking him as Spirit was a few moments ago.

"Calm down, calm down. Soul is... safe. But that's not what you want to know right now."

"Why not," she cocked her head slightly. "Isn't he with Maka?"

Stein pressed his index finger to his lips in a "shush" motion. "No, actually. But we don't have to let him know that..." He indicated to Spirit, now banging his head against the railing, creating a few new bruises.

"Why not?"

"It'll be more fun that way. Duh." Stein wheeled his chair to Spirit, still in the middle of his self-pity fest, and tapped him on the shoulder. "You done? If you hurry, you can still catch Maka before her flight takes off."

Spirit slowly stood, stumbling slightly, and wiped the tears and mucus from his determined features.

"Y-you're right! My M-Maka _needs me!_ I'm coming sweethear – AH!"

Spirit made to jump over the balcony as he did the day before, but this time, the hand of a practiced scythe-meister was there to hold him back. "Don't run just yet, Forrest. You still don't know where the airport is, let alone what flight they're on." Looking impatient as ever, he sent his meister a death-glare.

"_Okay _then, smart-ass, where is it?"

"I'll tell you, if you wear this," Before Spirit knew what was happening, there was a clicking sound near his neck. He grabbed at the spot, a large band where his jugular should be.

"What the hell –" A small box depicting a collar with large spikes was whipped into his line of sight.

"It's a Killer Collar, used for particularly large and disobedient dogs like yourself. Here," He said, flashing a small bone-shaped tag in his face. "its even got your name on it."

Squinting, Spirit read the small, eloquent text, backing up in shock afterwards. "_'Fluffy'? _You're seriously coo-coo for Coco-Puffs if you think you're gonna get me to wear this..."

Stein threw his hand to his head dramatically. "But what of the fate of your beloved daughter? What would your little girl think when she's told the only thing keeping you apart was bitter _pride_?_"_

Spirit quickly snatched the tag from his grasp, snapping it on himself. Now very impatient and very pissed, he turned to his maniacal partner. "Anything_ else?_" His voice dripped with sarcasm. Stein stood for a moment, gaze set to the sky and finger tapping his chin as he contemplated his options. He walked into Spirit's room, looking under and over things. Finally, his eyes rested on an old box.

"I want your baseball cards."

Spirit's eyes widened in disbelief. "NO! THOSE ARE COLLECTIBLES."

Stein pouted. "But Maka..."

Broken, Spirit walked to the box, blew some dust off the top, and reluctantly handed it to Stein. "ANYTHING. ELSE?"

"Hmmm... gimme five bucks."

Spirit sighed. "Do I _want _to know why?"

"I'm gonna need some breakfast, sempai. McDonald's has the best pancakes." Stein walked up to Spirit, pulling a leash out of his pocket and attaching it to the collar. _How does he hold it all? _Spirit wondered.

Stein walked back out to the balcony and sat the box on the ground. He pulled out a book of matches, striking one on his show. He then tossed the match onto the box, much to Spirit's horror.

"Oh close your mouth, already and lets go. The maids'll get it. It'll be ashes by the time they get to it, though..." Stein flashed a toothy grin, yanking the chain slightly to lead . "That'll happen to the rest the cards that you keep under your bed."

"How did you –"

"My informants."

* * *

_:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~_

**DAY 5**

_Can't a girl get some decent sleep around here?_ I thought warily. I awoke with a start for the umpteenth time, sweating, panting, the works. I glanced at my surroundings to get my sense of reality back, taking the most comfort in the warmth that ensconced me. _Kidd's _warmth.

It was the dream again. The dream that came and went a few times a year, usually totally out of the blue, easy to discard and not link to any particular events in my life. Usually I'd just wake up and go to the kitchen and make myself some pie, cake, or whatever sweet or pastry occupying the fridge and have a seat at the kitchen's bar. Soul would come into room, woken by my stirrings and have a seat next to me. Sometimes he'd ask me what was wrong, but in recent years he just offers his shoulder to lean on or his company to calm my nerves, or a hug to shut out the loneliness. Basically _all _the things I feel after having the dream, no matter how old I get or where I go. Once I had it during a week-long scouting-mission. It took two hours of me breaking down and shushing and cooing from the rest of my squad to get me back on my feet. This time, however, I had the strong arms of the one I ... loved? Liked? I don't want to get ahead of myself here, so I'll choose the latter. I was with _someone, _so what did it matter– a someone who had the deepest eyes, the kindest, gentlest smile, the most caring personality.

It really would be easier if it was one of those dreams where reality twists and tears and bends, and you always end up falling, only to wake up as soon as you hit the bottom. I could wake up, grab a glass of water, get some counseling... _something. _But of course I had to have a dream based on deep, disturbing suppressed feelings of my childhood.

It's funny how my parents _always _argued, yet _one _memory, one tiny, insubstantial, insignificant memory of some random aftermath of some random argument was the one that affected me most.

Its also funny that even in my own commentary I subconsciously downplay the event as just any other night.

If memory serves me right, then it was about a week before my mother up and left Papa and I. I was crushed for weeks... months... years. Hell, I was _still_ hurting from her sudden departure, and could still almost feel the chaste kiss she planted on my cheek before she left, promising me that she'd "be home soon".

Ha. Since when did "soon" mean the same as "never"?

It was a year before I'd heard from Mama and two before I'd seen her in person again, he hatred for Papa strong enough to keep us apart. Honestly, her advice to "never trust men" had stuck ever since I was young. I mean, how could I? They were incapable, and lazy and smelly and –

Kidd stirred in his sleep, wrapping his arms a bit tighter around me. I gasped and suppressed a giggle. Kidd was an acceptation of course. He understood me in ways that very few people did. At first I thought that we were just two kids that could tolerate each other's crazy, but its so much more than that. Half of the time I think he knows that I'm going to say before I even say it. Such a wonderful person with a beautiful personality as his couldn't possibly be the same as the monsters my mother made men into...

...could he?

The sudden urge to be in my own home in my own bed swept over me, and I started to question every word spoken to me in the last four days. Kidd and I _had _been rather close. Closer than Soul and I, even, and I lived with the guy. Four days. _Four days. FOUR DAYS AND I'M ALREADY SLEEPING WITH HIM?_

_Oh my death, oh my death, OH MY DEATH I'M A SLUT! Mom warned me about this – WARNED ME that men had the power to turn you into puddy. What am I going to DO...? I-I gotta get outta here... gotta find another place to stay... grab a cab, get a passport, MOVE TO MEXICO –_

_Calm down. _I shook my head a bit. Sometimes I have to call on my conscious to tell remind myself of my current situation... that I'm safe, not in imminent danger, like fighting a kishin-egg, or that my friends aren't in danger_._ It's been happening much less over the years since I've acquired guy friends(and started living with one) to get over the teachings ingrained in my mother. I mean don't get me wrong: There _are _a lot of guys out there who's one and only desire in a relationship is to get some... ugh, "sack action". But that's not _all _guys. Soul, Black*Star and Kidd have shown me that.

"That doesn't mean he's incapable of doing anything wrong..."I mumbled. I took a deep breath to calm myself, listening to the heartbeat that sent me to sleep the night before.

_I trust Kidd. I do. But maybe,_ I thought, _ I should tone down the affection a bit. Heck, I may not actually even like the guy, and he's pulled some sort of freaky Shinigami love voodoo on me..._

"Maka..." Kidd mumbled. I swallowed, trying to calm my rapidly increasing heart-rate. _Ok, 'pretty sure I do..._

"Yeah, I'm up."

He shifted my body weight carefully off of his lap to look at me. I smiled. He did the same, standing up and stretching. I tried to direct my eyes elsewhere so it didn't seem like I was staring. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," I said, walking towards the bathroom to change. Today would be a sweatpants and t-shirt day. We were flying private, and Kidd had already seen me in pajamas – who would I be trying to impress?

I turned to retrieve the blankets from last night to stow them on the way to the bathroom, and was greeted with Kidd's worried expression.

"'Something wrong?"

I shook my head, grabbing the comforters and walking to the hallway closet outside of the bathroom.

"Nothing."

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

* * *

"'Something wrong?"

"Nothing."

Nothing? _Not this again... _It was the way her eye twitched and how high the end of her lips curled too much when she smiled that told me something was wrong. From my experiences of living and working with women, I know for a fact that "nothing" _never _actually meant _nothing. _Something was wrong, and Maka was either really ticked off at something I did, or something was bothering her and she didn't want to talk about it. It really would be better if she was angry. Then I could just apologize and avoid any unnecessary drama. If something was bothering her...

I put on one of my famous fake smiles, nodding in confirmation before she turned and walked away.

_Looks like I'll have to wait this one out..._

_:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~_

* * *

"YAHOO!"

"Dammit, Black*Star!" I shouted after the alarms had gone off. We'd just arrived at security when Black*Star decides that mere "mortals"(airport security) are not even worthy of running their scanners over his "heavenly body".

Tsubaki kind of slumps in defeat because this is what she's used to. Kidd and I facepalm as we are taken to the security office and drilled as to whether we are terrorists or not. It's a good thing we were riding private – anyone would have missed their flight after a two hour delay. We made our way to the landing stripe where a shiny top-of-the-line jet awaited us, the traditional Shinigami skull painted on the one side. We handed our luggage to the pilot and bodyguards(were those even necessary?) and boarded the plane via posh red velvet steps. A collective gasp was heard as the door swung open.

It was like a tiny apartment – extremely soft purple carped padded the floors, and the walls painted a humble tangerine color. There was a flatscreen and an entertainment system in the center of the first room – there were three, each blocked off by a sliding door. In the second, there lay a minibar and kitchen. The last room held traditional plane seats, probably for taking off and landing. In a nutshell, we were in for a pretty sweet ride.

That is, if I stopped flinching every time Kidd touched me.

The first time was when we stepped into the plane – Kidd wanted to get off the ground as soon as possible before Black*Star got his energy back. The little twerp was bushed from the interrogation, and would probably be out for a good hour, at least. As he was leading us to the back of the plane to take our seats, he put his hand on the small of my back. It wasn't anything new for the two of us; Kidd and I had been on more compromising positions while on missions, like when we were all squeezed into tight spaces, or the time Black*Star only brought one tent for a mission in the coniferous forest of India and we were all forced to sleep in close proximity. But that small gesture was all it took, and I'd jumped like I was possessed. He looked at me with concern and asked if I was alright. I nodded and smiled what I hoped was a convincing smile, but he didn't do it again. To make things worse, when we'd all taken our seats, I didn't make eye contact with Kidd once when he was talking to me as we took off. It was clear that he'd gotten the message when we were free to move about the jet once we'd reached the proper altitude – his face was a pitiful combination of confusion and hurt. I felt like I'd just kicked a puppy as I rose from my seat.

I took a seat in the first room with the TV and plugged my laptop into one of the wall sockets for it to charge(this thing had _wall sockets!_), planning to lose myself in writing some romance stories. Its what I always did when I was agitated. My Macbook made the signature "haaaah" sound when it turned on and I was about to type in my password when the seat next to me sunk

"Hey there," Kidd said hesitantly, leaning over me to see what was on the screen. I blushed. "what are you up to?"

Strike two. I flinched again and stood up abruptly, yanking my cord out of the wall. "I-I'm just working on a story."

"Oh... ah, okay. Am I disturbing you...?" There was that kicked puppy look again. _Dammit!_ Every bone in my body wanted to reach down and hug him, but Mama's voice was in the back of my conscious, her vicious words cutting through my soul: _He's a man, Maka. He is the __**enemy.**_

"I – ah, well – yes, but..." His face paled even further, and his shoulders slumped slightly. Just then, Black*Star walked in.

"Dude, did you know your fridge has pretzels _and _nuts? And the good nuts too, like, Cashews and stu –"

"Well! I can't write with Black*Star in here, can I? I'll just leave you two to your video games and hang out with Tsubaki..." I was out of the room in seconds, not daring to risk a backward glance at the sad eyes that I could almost feel boring into my back.

* * *

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

The time was 12PM, when Stein was able to behold the amusing sight of Spirit chasing after a jet. He and Blair watched from the lobby as they waited for their plane to arrive. Even from their distance from the landing strip, Death Scythes screams could be heard, albeit a bit muffled.

"MAKA! MAKA! _MAAAAAAAAAAKAAAAAAAAAAAA! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!_" Stein was slightly impressed – he was a few inches away from grabbing onto the end of the large metal bird. There was no doubt in his mind that if he did manage to latch himself on, he was more than capable to clawing his way to one of the windows and get himself inside. He sighed.

That just wouldn't do.

"Hey Blair," He said, tapping the cat on the shoulder, effectively taking her attention away from people magazine. "wanna see something cool?" She nodded uncertainly.

He held up his hand to make the shape of a gun and pointed it at Spirit. "Bang." He said softly.

When Stein "fired" his "gun", Spirit stopped immediately, writing on the ground in pain. Stein smiled sadistically, and for moment, Blair was confused, and more than a little scared. Just how powerful _was _Stein? And why did he have this need, this _drive _to berate and cause pain to his best friend? She glanced down at his other hand and saw the switch to the Killer Collar. She sighed – at least she knew he didn't have magical shot-gun powers.

Blair glanced back to the landing strip and noticed that Spirit wasn't there. She tugged on Stein's labcoat. "Hey, where is –"

"You _bastard._"

Well that answered that question.

"Who," Stein asked, feigning innocence. "'little old me? I don't know what you're talking about."

"I was this close," Spirit said between ragged breaths as he held up his thumb and index finger, a little distance between each. "_this close._ You can't just let me be happy, can you?" Stein shrugged.

"Well, you don't have to worry about it, jerk-wad, because I bought us all plane tickets. We're going to Hawaii." Blair's eyes lit up like she'd just found out she was going to Disney Land. Stein shook with laughter.

"Oh really? And what makes you think I'll go with you? I have things to do, and I like as little exposure to the sun as possible." Spirit smirked.

"I have my methods." Stein was about to ask when a familiar voice rose above all the others in the terminal, making everyone stare.

"FRANKEN STEIN! Where the hell do you think you're going?" Stein winced and turned around slowly.

"Hello, Marie." In front of him lie one of the most influential people in his life. Sure he could easily cut her open like everyone else, and he had urges to do so very often, but the only time she was actually in danger was when his madness was at its peak. When he was lucid, she could actually be a little frightening.

" Don't you 'Hello, Marie" me! I just got a call from Spirit about an hour ago requesting I come here as quickly as possible, and another a few moments ago telling me you_shocked him! _Is this true?" Stein sent a death-glare in Spirit's direction, which was returned with a smirk. Oh, there would be hell to pay, but for the moment, Spirit thought it was worth it.

"I, well – you see – "

"You are going to march right onto that plane and help us find Maka!"

"But I don't want to go to Hawa – " He stopped when Marie gave a low, carnal growl and gulped.

"MARCH!" He sighed.

"Fine..."

Marie composed herself with a hrumph, and offered Blair a good morning and a smile to which she returned with a bow. She seemed to be back to normal.

_"Now boarding flights 182 through 187..."_

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

"Was it something I said?"

"No way! You're all gentlemanly and shit – could've been you." Black*Star responded, blasting aliens. Halo wasn't exactly my favorite pastime. I wasn't really a fan of video games as a whole, but the system came with the jet, and gaming was the only medium through which I could talk to Black*Star without him losing focus.

"But why else would she be so distant? It was only yesterday the girl slept on my lap!" Black*Star paused for a moment to grin at me and offer a "bro-fist". I sighed, obliging his wishes, but not really catching the sentiment of the gesture. He was probably thinking the worst, so explaining wouldn't do any good.

"Good on ya, bro! Getting in her pants on the first night!" See? I shushed him frantically and reminded him that the girls were right next door.

"We didn't actually _do _anything, okay? Calm down! Its not like you'd do anything like that to Tsubaki, anyway."

He sat there a moment and nodded. "'Probably not. Though it _is _my job as the amazing deity I am to spread my seed so tiny godlings could go around and make the world a better place, I know that Tsubaki wouldn't be able to handle taking care of a kid, and I don't know the first thing about parenting either." I stared at my friend in awe, suppressing a smile. Despite what others may tell you, the gang's near-death experience with Asura seems to have shocked some sense into Black*Star. He'd honestly and truly matured. Not by much, but it was there, and he was on his way to being a strong-willed, controlled adult for sure. I'd say he's come pretty far if he's reached the point where he could admit he was wrong, _and _that he couldn't do something in the same sentence.

"Anyway, think back to this week – what do you think it is? Try to get in every detail. Its impossible to tell what would set Maka off, but it would give you some closure." I nodded just before performing a spectacular headshot on Star's player.

"How do you keep _doing _that?" he exclaimed.

Just because I didn't like Halo didn't mean I wasn't good at it.

* * *

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

The flight was long and awkward, but we'd finally arrived. The brochures didn't do Hawaii justice. The surf, sand, and _smell _of everything was so exotic. The four of us probably stood beside the road at the edge of the beach for about ten minutes before any of us spoke. Not surprisingly, it was Black*Star.

"AWW YEAH! It's the beach!"

I sighed. "No shit, Sherlock."

We walked to the hotel, very... traditional-looking.

That translates to "It looked _old._"

But, according to Kidd, this was one of the oldest and nicest hotels in all of Hawaii, and when we stepped inside, we weren't disappointed. Tikis littered the hobby, waxed and polished to perfection, the hardwood floors creaking and shining with the same sheen.

I hung back with Tsubaki is Kidd checked us in. He kept sending me concerned backward glances. I comforted myself with the knowledge that we'd have some distance tonight as we all retired to our rooms. The lady at the counter led us all down a few hallways and two flights of stairs when we reached hallway F. She gave each of us a key, and showed us the ins and outs of one of the rooms.

The room was very upscale, but kept with the tropical theme. There were palm trees and traditional art carved into the walls, and in the center of the room lay a large four-poster bed with tiki bedposts. The left wall had a floor-to-ceiling window with a full view of the ocean. We all oo'd and aah'd and Kid grinned, proud of himself.

"Okay, so," Our guide said. "In this room, we've got a Mr. the Kidd and a Ms. Albarn, and in the room next to this, a Ms. Natsukasa and... 'Black*Star'." She glanced up in confusion at the peculiar name, but was startled at our incredulous expressions.

"There's been a mistake." We all turned to Kidd behind us. "I ordered two rooms – one or two males, and one for two females." The woman shook her head, but for some reason looked a bit relieved.

"No, you requested two rooms, and wrote down your name" – she pointed at me – "to yours, and his name to hers." She said, indicating Star and Tsubaki. "I'm kind of glad. I thought at first that you guys were a pair of young double-honeymooners. You're _way _too young to be married, and I'd just assumed the worst!"

"S-so you mean we have to sleep in the _same bed?_" I almost shouted. Strike three – Kidd looked more hurt at that sudden proclamation than anything I'd said to him all day. The caramel-skinned woman winced, holding up her hands in defeat.

"Listen, I'm very sorry about this, but that's something you'll all have to work out yourselves. The best I can do for you is get you a new form and change the reservations, but that'll take about two days."

Tsubaki looked extremely nervous. "Two _days? _But can't I just sleep in a room with Maka?"

"'M afraid not. Its technically trespassing if Ms. Albarn were to go into your room and stay the night or vice-versa."

"That's ridiculous!" I shouted.

"I'm sorry. I don't make the rules, I just follow them." The woman left quickly, stopping at the door to address us all. "Have a nice stay!"

I sighed, avoiding Kidd's gaze. "C'mon guys. We'll have to unpack quickly if we want to have any beach time." Brightening at the thought, Black*Star's energy came back quickly.

"OH YEAH! BEACH TIME!"

**:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~**

**(1)-Marquee: A type of digital display where the words wrap around a black screen. Google it, because I don't really know how to describe it...**

**(2)-CC's: Short for "Chupa Cobra's"**

**(3)-"Hold it": For those who aren't familiar with it, "hold it" is a dog trick where a treat of some kind is placed in front of the dog, and it has to sit there, resisting its urges until its master says its okay to eat it.**

**Next chapter:**

**The gang have reached Hawaii safe and sound, and a week of sand, surf and fun awaits them... if they can get through the thick awkward cloud that seems to seperate the boys from the girls. Meanwhile, Spirit, Stein, Blair and Marie reach their destination and meet an old friend.**

**Question time!**

**A question from the reader "halberd42":**

**_Do you keep up with updates on your favorite manga? and what games do you usually play?_**

**_Sadly, I haven't really checked in on updates with manga that often since I discovered fanfiction last year, but to name a few, Dengeki Daisy, Utosuki Lily, Ouran High School Host Club, and a few others. I've never read the Soul Eater manga, but have watched the whole anime. I probably should start on it ^_^". As for games, I am a HUGE gamer, so making a list of the ones I usually play is a little hard. I'm not the type that sticks only to Call of Duty, though. I love all types of games, especially RPGs, and the occasional platformer. I've been self-teaching myself to use code and the programs I've bought, and have been planning to make some RPGs, actually. I really wanna make a Soul Eater one, but I know it'll take a while, and I lack the sprites(pixilated character images) for it._**

Make sure you review~ ...

_**... or I'll take your ****soul****.**_


	7. Making Waves

**Follow me on tumblr, guys - my URL is on my profile :D If you do, you'll get access to some fanart, info on my stories, and my webcomic that's gonna come out some time this year. PLEASE CHECK THE AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE BOTTOM – _VERY _important info down there guys. If you don't check it, you'll miss out on some seriously fun stuff!**

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, THE SERIES, ANIME, MANGA, OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OR MERCHANDISE, ECT._I do own the storyline of this fanfic, however._

* * *

**A Month In the House of Death**

_by RapozaTeRa(formerly Samurai Tsundere)_

**Chapter Seven:**

**Making Waves**

* * *

"I can't believe this."

"It's not _that _bad."

"Not that bad? _Not that bad?! _We're in freaking _Germany!_" Spirit said, throwing his hands in the air as a short rotund woman with pigtails greeted the foursome, fresh off their plane.

"_Hallo__!__Willkommen in Deutschland!"_

Spirit looked left, then right. "A-are you talking to me?" The woman looked just as confused as they did.

"_Warum sind Sie__beantworten meine Frage nicht__?__Sind__die meisten Amerikanerdies__unhöflich?"_

Marie sighed. "Let me handle this. " She walked up to the little lady and kindly asked, _"__Wo ist der nächste__Junior__Botschaft__?" _She blinked a few times.

"_Gibt es__ein Problem?"_ She pushed past Stein trying to get a better view of the other passengers leaving the plane, her face pale. "_Ist der Präsident__hier?__!"_Marie laughed at this.

"_Nein, nein!__Wir sind__nur ein kleines bisschen__...__verloren__,__das ist alles.__Können Sieuns eine Karte__?__Vielleicht__ein Übersetzer__?" _The woman nodded quickly, waddling away as fast as her little feet could carry her.

Spirit was the first to recover from the bizarre display. "You speak _German?!_"

Marie nodded. "I took it for a few years as an extra class while working towards my Ph.D. I never thought that it would come in handy..." She sighed. Blair crept up behind her and gave her a hug.

"Don't worry Ms. Marie, we'll get back soon..." She said with concern

"I sure hope so..."

"Hey, Marie?" The assistant turned to Spirit slowly, gritting her teeth.

"_What _Spirit?" She hissed.

"When are we gonna eat? I've been starving since we got on the flight a few hours ago, and those penuts and pretzels did _not _hold me off." Stein flinched. Marie was steaming – you could almost _see _the heat waves billowing off her tiny form.

"You _idiot..._"

"Who's fault is that?! If a certain red-headed dumbass hadn't called me, and asked for a 'tiny favor', then we wouldn't be here! How does this even warrant as 'tiny', anyway?!"

It was halfway through their flight that everyone realized that they were _not _going to Hawaii, and it was obviously too late. In Spirit's frenzied state, he'd booked a flight _183 – Germany, _not flight _182_, a one-way trip to Hawaii. Everyone was jetlagged, tired, and cranky, especially Marie, bringing out an anger and bitchiness unbeknownst to Stein.

"Oh, c'mon, I got _something _right! We would've never been able to get here unless I'd told you all to bring your passports!"

"Yeah, but that was only because you thought Hawaii was a _country_, nitwit." Stein quipped.

"But that's what this guide said!" he pulled a small pamphlet-sized book out of his pocket, flipping through pages until he found a picture of a beautiful island covered in lush foliage.

"_See? _It says so right here: _'An island nation located in the Carribean Ocean –'"_

Stein facepalmed. "This is an information page on the _Bahamas._"

"Oh..."

"Okay... Lets find the Junior Embassy**(1) **so we can get some assistance." The four followed the attendant, hoping her tiny legs could lead them to some good fortune.

* * *

I honestly thought I'd known how pissed Maka could get. Apparently I was wrong. The room was silent, the atmosphere so thick it could be cut with a knife. I babbled all kinds of I'm sorries, promising to make things up to her – to _all _of them – but it seemed the more that I talked, the angrier Maka got.

"_Well_ _then_... ah, we'd best be getting changed, c'mon Tsubaki – "

"You _idiot!_" I flinched. "Why the _hell _would you get us only _two rooms_?! I thought it was your job as 'Mr. High-Roller' to get us the best of the best, yet you only get us _two rooms_?!"

"Yes, ah – well, you see, I wanted some... ah..." I glanced around the room for a copout. Dammit, things were not going as planned... not only had I managed to make Maka extremely uncomfortable around me for reasons I can't even explain _and _screw up the first two days of our trip, but now she _and _Tsubaki were going to find out about Star and I's plan. My mind was going a mile a minute. _Think Kidd, think..._

"Bro-time!" Everyone directed their attention to a very nervous Black*Star. "Kidd and I figured that you girls would be in the same room most of the trip anyway since you guys would wanna talk. You wouldn't want all the _testosterone _we produce to ruin your good time, would you?" The girls just stared, utter confusion and more than a little apprehension on their faces. "Okay? Good? Okay! C'mon Kidd, let's let the girls change." I nodded dumbly, whispering a brief and desperate "_Thank you_" before high-tailing it out of there.

Black*Star and I got to what was _supposed _to be our room to change. I start to wonder if our fictitious "bro time" really exists because as soon as we shut the door and I'd hopped into the shower to change, Star and I start to talk. Seriously, what is it with the two of us "bonding" these last few months? Not that I mind being able to talk to a peer who could in the very least bush the _surface _of my personality. Who else what I supposed to go to for my "Maka Problems"?

Okay, maybe not "Maka" problems. Apparently the problem isn't her, but me.

I never knew it could hurt this much to be rejected by a girl. The problem had never come up since I'd never really paid much attention to girls before, sometimes to the point where people question my sexuality. My problem was always the same: "This girl is too tall" or "this girl is too lopsided" or even "this girl walks with a limp so her style of walking isn't symmetrical".

Ugh. I remember that one. It took about five grown men to stop me from dislocating her leg and re-attaching it the right way.

Maka is different, though. Not only are her bodily proportions sublime(at least from a distance), but her heart and will are strong, and her personality is just perfect. So perfect, in fact, that if the opportunity were to arise where I could measure her hips and I got an odd number, I believe I'd be able to turn a blind eye.

If I could have _any _contact with Maka's hips I could turn a blind eye to a burning building.

Star proposed that the two of us scrap "OPERATION: Love Shack"(What kind of a porno name was that, anyway? Obviously I didn't have a say in what to call it...), being that there was almost always _something _that was going to go wrong.

"We were doomed to failure from the start," He said, followed by the rustle of clothes. "everyone keeps telling me that I need to stop 'planning' ways to impress Tsubaki. There are just too many variables."

I was shocked. "'Variables'. Using big words now, huh, 'Star?" I stepped out of the stall. "How do I look?"

Black*Star looked at me skeptically. "Um, you're in a pair of swim-trunks. You _look_ half-naked."

Great. Not only is my only ally an unobservant moron, but now I'm going to feel self-conscious when I hit the beach. "Try again."

"Mmmm... they're very... green?" He asked, his eyes hopeful. _Now _we were getting somewhere.

"Yes, _very good. _Now what else is green?"

'Star thought for a moment. "Grass?"

So much for progress. "No, no. Try something a bit closer to home."

"Your suitcase...?

"No, but close."

"_Maka's _suitcase?" I nodded. Come on, Black*Star, strain your brain just a _little bit more... _Finally realization dawned on my friend's face. He frowned in distaste.

"Seriously, Kidd? You based the decision on what color trunks you'd choose based on the color of Maka's _eyes?_" He shook his head. "_Shinigami_, you're cheesy..."

What?! I spent almost an _hour _picking out a pair of trunks! I wanted to go with my usual Shinigami skulls, but changed my mind – if I wanted Maka to notice me, I'd have to put my all into making everything I did speak volumes. "But you said to be subtle!"

"Yeah, I said 'subtle', not 'non-existant'." Huh. The little shit starts to broaden his vocabulary and now he thinks he's the All-Knowing Poobah of Everything. I'm sure knowing "non-existant" and "variables" shouldn't be that big of a deal, but for a boy who'd spent an hour trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, he's making progress at an alarmingly fast rate. I made a rather rare un-dapper gesture and we began our walk to the beach. We find a decent spot and begin to set everything up when I bring it up again.

"So I take it you've started carrying around a pocket dictionary?" Black*Star arched his brow. I groaned – obviously I'd have to dumb things down a little.

"Yoo carry rownd leetel skware make understand big wurds?" Black*Star blushed, reaching into his bag. He pulled out a tiny Webster's Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus. Double-huh. So he really _did _have one on him. "Whats this for? And why have you been talking differently?"

"Tsubaki treats me like a little kid," He confessed. Big shocker. "and I figure if I clean up way I talk, and maybe brush up on my table manners she'll start looking at me as more than a little brother."

I really did understand. He tries so hard in everything he does, and the amazing thing is, _he gets most of them done. _When he told everyone he was going to find the enchanted sword Excalibur, he did. When he said he was going to kick Kishin Asura's ass, he did. When he said he was going to stuff ten donuts in his mouth at my last party, _he did it_, _and _managed to make it outside before he could puke on my Persian rugs.

Ok, that one was a close call, but it was still funny.

The point is, Tsubaki, as all girls seemed to be, was a completely different challenge. Getting a girl to like you isn't just a test of will and strength. If that was the case, the two would be all over each other already. But to put your all into something, and have it possibly shot down no matter how hard you try must hurt. In theory, getting to the moon would be easier for Black*Star to achieve than getting Tsubaki's opinion of him to change, because whatever it may be, no amount of will power could make her to have a change of heart, and he's not the type to use violence to _force _her into something. I pat 'Star on the back and take a seat next to him on the beach towel, stringing my other arm around his shoulder. He really needed a pick-me-up. "Don't worry about Tsubaki – something tells me that she's just as into you as you are into her." His eyes widened in shock.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, really," Something was buzzing against my thigh. "Hold on, lemme take this," I check the caller I.D – Tsubaki. "Hello?"

"Kidd? Where are you guys? Are you on the beach yet?" Her voice was mingled in with the sounds of waves, gulls, and screaming children.

"Yeah, we're here. There's some big commotion in the opposite direction of the hotel. Come towards that."

"Oh! We see you!" She promptly hung up, and the crowd that had slowly accumulated to our left parted like the red sea, revealing the subject of interest.

"Hiya, boys!"

My jaw dropped. _"Sweet Shinigami..."_

* * *

Oh Shinigami... Oh Shinigami...

"Heeey, baby!"

Oh no...oh no...

"Miss, are you free later? There's this nice little bar down the way, and..."

_Ugh... _

"Mickey, check it out!"

"Mmm, I wanna piece o' _dat!_"

Ok, that's it. I turned and started walking back towards the hotel.

"Oh, c'mon, Maka, they're just guys..." Just _guys?! _They were acting as if they were bidding on two pieces of meat! This was more embarrassing than when I tried beer for the first(and hopefully last) time at Black*Star and Tsubaki's barbeque.

Ok...almost. Puking on your partner's shoes _is _pretty high on the embarrassing scale.

Anyway, it wasn't like the attention I was receiving didn't feel _nice_. Guys didn't really stop to look at me twice. But the moment I decide to show a little – more like _a lot _– of skin, guys I don't even know and probably never will are staking claims. I was tired, feeling insulted, and wanting to get off the beach _immediately._

"Its not like you have anything to worry about." I snap. Tsubaki was wearing a simple forest-green bottom with rings on the sides in place of seams, and a white top. It was very simple, obviously meant for an older woman, and had cleavage for days. She was used to this type of attention, and had gotten over her insecurities about her breasts years ago. She didn't have to search for a suit, having purchased one from a specialty shop(for her size) a week before. I'm sure if Liz and Patty had been there in person, I would have been tied down and forced to try on every one in the entire store. It was about an hour into searching that I heard Tsubaki gasp.

"Its perfect!" She ran over to me, practically bouncing. It was a black two-piece with a Shinigami skull right in the center of the wrap-around strapless top and at the base of the _extremely _short form-fitting boy-shorts. I asked why _she _couldn't be the one to wear black, and what all the hype was about. Liz sighed.

"Maka, who do you know that _loves _black, and _always _seems to have skulls on every article of clothing he owns?"

Oh. _Oh._ Dear Shinigami, no.

Tsubaki saw the apprehension clear on my face. "Maka, _please? _ Anyone with half a brain could see what it means. We agreed to give subtle, but clear hints."

"What's subtler and clearer than wearing the person you like's symbol?" Psh. Since when had _Patty _become a master of romance?

"Its almost like... like you're telling him that everything he see's is for _him _and _only _him." Eeewww. I hated it when Liz started talking all sultry. I felt like my ears were being molested. Whoever said girls weren't as raunchy as guys?

"What do you mean?"

"_Hello? _Black*Star will notice _you _for certain." She sighed.

"That's not... that's not true. I _live _with Black*Star and he doesn't notice me. Sometimes I'll buy a new outfit, and in the earlier years of the crush I had on him, I'd show off even more cleavage than usual." She smiled sadly. "But he's always been there for me. He's just been there for me as an older brother instead of a love interest." I shook my head, confused.

"But isn't he younger than you?"

"Yes, but I hate to admit that he's saved me on more than one occasion... I can be a bit... ah... _naïve_." I tried my best to comfort her, patting her on the shoulder re-assuringly.

"I'm _sure _he likes you more than you let on. I mean, look at you," I gestured to her entire figure. "you've got... _all this. _Anyone who lives with a girl like you without nose-bleeding at least once a week needs to get his vision checked." She chuckled, cradling her arm self-consciously, shifting her gaze to the water.

"That's just it... I think Black*Star has been living with me for so long that he doesn't even notice anymore." She blushed, ducking her head once more. "In my mind, that's all the more reason to like him; He sees me for _me, _not for the size of my chest. _None _of my male friends have ever done that... well, except for Kidd, but he's too much of a gentleman." I giggled. That was one of the reasons _I _liked _Kidd _so much. He had a level of maturity that boys his age lacked. As much as it hurts me to say it though, I KNEW Kidd has had at least _one _thought about Tsubaki that isn't exactly "gentlemanly", so the idea that Black*Star's mind is free from filth is just plain stupid albeit I _do _think that he can see past her breasts for the girl she is inside. I trust that at some point – be it now or twenty years from now – that he'll make her see that. But for now I'd have to get past the issue of getting them closer.

"Just trust me on this one, Tsu," I smiled, and she returned it.

"Yeah... maybe you're right. _But,_" I groaned. That devious glint was in her eyes again. "we need to make sure Kidd appreciates all the hard work you've put in." She whipped her phone out of one of our bags and dialed. After a few moments, a familiar "Hello?" crackled through the receiver. "Kidd? Where are you guys? Are you on the beach yet?" I look around for the two. Why is it so hard to find an ADD ninja with lightning blue hair and a yellow-eyed pale kid with white stripes in his hair? Add the beach bunny and the titless-wonder and we've got Cirque du Soleil. Tsubaki tapped me on the shoulder, and pointed ahead. Sure enough, the boys lay under a huge umbrella with all of our things.

_Hot damn. _I always knew Kidd had a body, but this... I felt like everything was in HD. Kidd wasn't "beefy" muscular like the gross sweaty body builders that frequent gyms, but had a lithe, limber body type, like a European model. I wasn't the only one staring. I felt a twinge of jealousy as other girls passed them, ogling a little bit longer than what was necessary. The two seemed so deep in their discussion that they didn't even notice. I checked Tsubaki for a reaction. Her face was in a smug, confidant smile.

"Don't worry, Maka. You look stunning. Now, its showtime!"

"Wait Tsubaki, I –"

"Hiya, boys!"

My anger was forgotten for a moment when I saw the look on both boy's faces. Not only was Kidd gaping like a fish, but Black*Star was too! That worried me. And not for obvious reasons like the fact that one of my best friends was checking me out, but that my best friend's _crush _was checking me out. I checked Tsubaki's reaction again. She looked prouder than I'd ever seen her and sent me a wink that I interpreted to mean something along the lines of "You go _get 'em _girl!" I turned my attention back to Kidd. He looked utterly stupefied, and for a moment, I had the family of unruly butterflies that had taken residence in my stomach completely under control. A sudden unmistakable burst of confidence put my body on autopilot as I sauntered up to kid and leaned down. His eyes flickered up and down my body several times before his vision settled with mine. Like Tsubaki said, it was showtime – time to stop playing and start making moves.

"Are you ready to start?" I said softly, flashing my best smile. He reacted immediately, pupils dialating, a splash of color finding its way onto his porcelain cheeks. He gasped a few times and gulped, getting his bearings together.

"S-start what?" He choked.

I giggled, surprising myself at the twinkling, breathy sound that came from my own lips. It was a flirty laugh. I was _flirting. _"Did you forget already?" When he didn't respond, I took a seat next to him, folding my legs and shifting my weight onto his side. He was even redder now, and tried to avoid eye contact. I lowered my face so I could see his embarrassment behind his upturned nose and pouted. "You promised you'd teach me how to air-board on the water!" He risked a glance, and quickly noticed how close we were. We were staring face to face now, and the close proximity seems to bring my confidence down a notch. _What the hell is he thinking? Hurry up and say something, dammit!_ Then something strange happened. For a fleeting moment, his eyes lingered on my lips, then back to mine nervously. Was he thinking about...?

No, he couldn't be.

Star's eyes were nearly popping out of his head now. I couldn't blame him – I, Maka Albarn, infamous for being a prude and a feminist man-hater was now shamelessly acting flirty with someone in front of a growing crowd of onlookers. I barely believed what was happening myself.

Kidd seemed to get back in tune with his surroundings as he scrambled onto his feet and into one of our bags, pulling out a case. He handed the board I was using back at the mansion to me, his hand touching mine a little longer than necessary. He turned his head in the direction of the ocean in a vain attempt to hide his burning face. "L-lets go."

* * *

"Okay, so the first step of aqua-boarding... or wave-riding... or tide-shredding... I haven't exactly come up with a name for it yet, but I like to use different terms to help me find what fits." The two of us were at the edge of the water, having mounted our boards moments ago. No matter what I did I couldn't seem to control myself: I could NOT stop staring at Maka. Her body... apparently my "Dalton-Warbler dapperness" had given me partial blindness to the sexy. The sexy I _live _with. Oh my...

"Kidd?"

"Y-yes..." Oh no. Did she see me staring? "The first step to riding waves is learning how to stand on your board. Whats wrong?"

She was frowning at the ocean, as if trying to decipher its secrets."But I already know HOW to stand."

"Yes, but aqua-boarding is a little different than air-boarding. You can't just stay calm in order to stay aloft."

"Why not?"

"Before we were riding a solid sliver of wood, metal, and plastic over equally-solid ground. Now, we'll be hovering over fluid, which undulates and shifts. It makes waves and flows – the earth doesn't. To keep things simple, the anti-gravity core is confused because of the inevitable movement below, and the fact that earth is more solid than water. In order to stop itself from being confused, it will sink to the sea-floor until its on solid ground again, even under water." She paled.

"So I'll _sink?!_"

"Not if you follow my instructions. Now, as we established before, the anti-gravity core sincs with your thoughts, feelings, and muscle memory. It's in tune with your mind and your emotions. When on solid ground, the board knows there is something beneath it, so it has to stay floating, otherwise it would scrape the ground. But we're going on the water. Now I'm sure you've wondered how when I fly with Beelzebub how I make the board rise and dive." She nodded. "We'll go into flying on a much later date because that requires more concentration, but basically, the hypothetical 'weight' of your thoughts is what allows that to happen. When you've experienced something traumatic, or something to make you guilty, your thoughts 'weigh you down'. So if you think of something troubling, or something deep, you'll start to sink. But when you're thinking of something happy or nostalgic – something that takes almost no effort on your part to get lost in without giving your body stress, your board will rise. Happiness makes you weightless." I floated a few feet out into the water, making Maka gawk.

"Woah, that's amazing!" I felt like singing. She was looking at me like I had super powers. Like I was a winner, and that my knowledge was endless. It was really flattering, because she only has that look during class when Dr. Stein or Sid is speaking.

I nodded. "Thank you. Now you try."

She shook her head. "Hell no." Maka only tended to curse when she was angry, but I wasn't surprised at her reaction.

"Maka..." I warned. She sighed.

"Fine. Now what do I do again?"

"Just think of something happy. A good memory, perhaps." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Maka's face contorted into a frown and I inwardly slapped myself. I forgot that many of Maka's memories weren't exactly _good, _most of them of her father, or her family problems, and that obviously wouldn't make her happy. "O-on second thought, why don't you try what I did when I first wave-boarded? List all of the things that would make you happy, or make your life seem complete. Then, close your eyes and picture those things coming true as you will your body forward." She took a deep breath and nodded. Oddly, her face flushed, but it was probably out of concentration. In a few moments she was right next to me on the water. She opened her eyes a bit, and she started grinning.

And sinking.

"Woah there, good thoughts, good thoughts. Don't lose focus or you'll sink..."

It was too late. Maka was already in panic mode, her feet disappearing beneath the waves.

* * *

"_Wie ich schon sagte, wir haben nicht vor, diesen Flug zu wählen! Gibt es keine Möglichkeit, um eine Rückerstattung zu erhalten?_"

"_Ich bedauere sehr vermissen, aber es gibt nichts, was wir tun können. Ich schlage vor, Sie für einen Flug zurück zu zahlen gehen Amerika und werden auf Ihrem Weg. Es wird leichter sein als streiten wie diese_."

Spirit frowned, his brows furrowed in worry. This was all his fault – he was in such a tizzy over finding his little girl that he hadn't even checked what flight he booked. Now they were in an embassy, in the middle of Deutschland. Marie was becoming more worried by the minute that they wouldn't be able to get a flight out of Germany by that evening, they were hungry, having had nothing more than plane concessions, and Blair was getting antsy, having turned into her cat form, making keeping track of her even harder than it should have been. Stein was... well, he was as indifferent as ever, taking long drags out of his cigarette in the seat next to Spirit, despite the large sign behind him saying not to smoke in about six different languages..Ridiculously large tears formed in Spirit's eyes. How would he find his baby now? She was even farther than she was before! Hawaii wasn't far from Death City at all in comparison to _Germany_.

Spirit felt subtle contact on his shoulder. Stein looked into his eyes with an expression he couldn't quite place. Was it... could it be? Could Stein actually be _concerned_ about him? "Spirit..." he began. Yes, it was! He was going to ask him if he was okay, and offer a loving, brotherly hug to soothe his –

"I'm hungry. Ask Marie if she can order us a Happy Meal across the street."

Spirit's face dropped. "Why the HELL would I do _that_?" Stein shrugged.

"Because she knows German, and I don't. And, she's not nearly as mad as she was on our way here, and I'm not poking a sleeping bear." He twisted his bolt, ignoring the steaming mess of a man beside him. Pouting, Spirit began to walk across the room to the reception desk, skipping through the cavalcade of angry men and women that stood between him and the front of the line where Marie was, planning what he'd say in the sweetest way possible so he wouldn't get his head bitten off. At some point, he stopped, wondering if he'd jumped into the wrong line, and looked around to assess his situation. That's when he saw her.

Could it be? After all these years, all this _searching_... Starting by roughly pushing aside an elderly woman, Spirit steam-rolled his way through the crowd.

Hearing screams behind her, and noticing a familiar shift in atmosphere, the woman in question turned around, her face paling. Leaving her place in line that she'd spent an hour to gain, she started to run in the opposite direction. In all the countries of the world, he had to be in this very location, in this very city, in this _very _embassy. She risked a glance behind her. But it was too late – he was upon her.

Back at their waiting spot, Stein was watching Blair wave her tail around, baiting herself, and pouncing on it. Basic science would tell her that catching her own tail probably wasn't going to happen any time soon, and that even if she did, what did it accomplish? After she got bored with that, he let her skip around on the shiny marble flooring, chasing her own reflection as he finished his cig. He reached around his coat pocket for another when he heard a soft _ahem_. He spared a glance at the owner of the voice.

His blood pressure rose instantly. "Oh. It's you."

* * *

_Mama, Papa, and I used to take beach-trips together. The waves lapping at our feet, we'd build sand castles that looked like antpiles littered with little shells and eat hotdogs. Then Mama would get mad when Papa brought me out to go swimming because neither of us could ever wait an entire hour. Mama would bring her guitar and sing for us around a campfire. We'd camp out under the stars, and if she fell asleep before we did, Papa would read to me before I nodded off myself. I remembered those to be the simplest times of my childhood._

_I was remembering each little event vividly, until one I hadn't thought of in quite a while surfaced. It was then that I began to sink._

_Mama and Papa were on either side of me, their hands on my back and stomach as they taught me how to swim. We weren't making much progress though – I was mostly just spastically flailing my arms and legs while Papa tried to avoid my feet. Mama, trying not to laugh too hard, decided to give him a break, and she picked me up, dunking me in the water over and over again, as I giggled hysterically. Just when I felt my belly was going to burst from squealing, the dunking stopped and I re-surfaced, watching Mama's face go from being red with mirth to a shocked, bedraggled expression. I followed her eyes, already having a feeling what was coming._

_Mama always compared Papa to a dog, and I could never quite understand why. He didn't chase his tail or scratch his ears with his feet, and he didn't fetch sticks. But at that moment, I understood. His eyes were wide and filled with excitement, his tongue almost touching his knees. He had the happiest smile on his face as he watched a busty blonde traipse by, giving him a wink. I turned back to Mama, wondering just what she'd do. _

_There was fire in her eyes, and she looked fierce, just like she always did when Papa looked at other women. And then, just like that, it was gone. She seemed tired – like she just didn't care anymore. Normally, she'd smack Papa, and they'd start an argument. Sometimes she'd shoot the other lady a glare similar to that of a territorial bear's, and release a low, angry growl, making Papa quick to apologize and run out to buy something expensive. _

_But not that day. That day, a single tear rolled down her face._

_It was the first time I'd ever seen her cry. She had never looked so defeated in her life, and instead of causing Papa some kind of physical pain, she just waded back to our blanket where she spent the rest of the day sulking._

_Papa didn't even notice._

* * *

"Maka!"

My neck was nearly swallowed by the salty deep.

After becoming more aware of my surroundings, I managed to imagine the kittens waiting for us back home. It was just enough to get my waistline at level with the top of the water. Kidd was lifting my from my armpits making sure I didn't drown.

"Are you okay?" He asked, slightly panicked. "What were you _thinking _about exactly? You were sinking like a rock!" I nodded, glancing around to make sure no one had seen my emberssing little episode.

Couples. Everywhere.

Couples near the shore, building sand castles. Couples teaching eachother to surf. Couples kissing, not a _stone's throw_ away from us for the entire beach to see. I gasped, as I heard giggling to my right to find a couple in a similar situation to what Kidd and I were in in that moment.

My blood boiled.

Kidd, still in a state of confusion, continued to ask me what was wrong, but it fell on deaf ears. I shook his arms away from me and to my surprise, found I was able to stand, if I was on my toes – the water wouldn't go past my head, even if I _had _sank all the way to the bottom. Kidd, a little more than a head taller than me, was off of his board, the water in line with his chest. I glared at him.

"You think I don't see what you're trying to do here?" He blinked, still looking very out of the loop. "Well I _do_. I expected better from you Kidd… you of _all _people. I'm out of here – my Mama was right." I turned to go, ignoring him desperately calling my name, angrily sloshing through the water and rudely pushing any couples in my way aside.

Back at shore, Tsubaki and Black*Star were laughing, making a pretty elaborate sand-castle. I was too angry to notice just how close they were sitting, and roughly grabbed her arm, hauling her off to somewhere - _anywhere _- far away from Kidd.

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**(1)Embassy: It's basically an information center for people from different countries. If you take a trip to another country, you can get your homeland's currency converted to a new one(for example, converting your US Dollars to Euros or Pounds if you go to Europe), get assistance or a guide of some sort(like in Spirit, Stein, Marie and Blair's case).**

**Next chapter: Kidd can't quite understand it - he's apologized, treated Maka to a trip to a beautiful island paradise... and she's still angry. When she meets a kindly local boy, he becomes instantly suspicious. Meanwhile, in Germany, Stein meets an old "friend" who may be able to help their group get home... if they don't kill eachother first.**

**Okay guys! So, if you saw my last update on my Samurai Tsundere profile, and if you're reading this chapter, good news - you know I moved! I deleted all the stories on my last profile, so things are final. The only thing left over is a disclaimer, telling everyone else why my stories aren't there. **

**I also have a tumblr now, guys - a ton of you had been asking over it over IM, so I made one. Please follow so you can get in on all my fanart and updates on my up and coming webcomic :**

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**There's a MaKidd piece there just for you guys that I think you'll like :)**

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	8. Drinking With The Enemy

**A/N: THE LINK TO MY TUMBLR IS ON MY PROFILE - follow for fanart... and funny things... and funny fanart things... You'll also get some updates on whatever fics I'm working on.**

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**A Month in the House of Death**

_by RapozaTeRa_

**Chapter Eight:**

**Drinking With The Enemy**

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**DAY 6**

The sun's bleary eyes barely peeked above the horizon line, opening and closing with disdain. The sky was a light shade of pink, the stars having retreated hours ago. I picked up the board beside me and dusted it off, quickly tossing it before me and gliding out onto the water.

I waited for a wave of appropriate size to approach and sped after it. The wind whipping at my face distracted me from the fiasco the night before – all I could focus on was the wonderful feeling of weightlessness that came with air-surfing.

I'd spent the entirety of the day before angry. As soon as Kidd had ended his little "lesson", I dragged Tsubaki off the beach and into a juice bar further down the road. They were both sitting under our umbrella, laughing and chatting it up. The two looked quite comfortable, but at the time, I wasn't thinking logically – I ruined their moment, something I promised myself I'd apologize profusely for later.

I explained what had happened along with my dream before we arrived over some non-alcoholic pina-coladas served in little half-shells of coconuts. I was so furious, I'd even considered asking Tsubaki if she could order us some drinks, since she could pass for twenty-one any day, but didn't feel like making her uncomfortable.

"I'm sure Kidd wouldn't do that on purpose. In fact, I could have sworn those couples were out there before you two had even arrived." I shrugged, taking a wedge of pineapple from the fruit spread we were sharing.

"But what if he was? I mean look at me – here I am buying hoards of gifts with his money, then accepting a trip to Hawaii. It's like what those rich farts who date younger women do – they form a mono-dependant relationship with a girl by pampering her, and when they want something in return, no matter _what _it is, we're supposed to give it to them. It's sick."

Tsubaki frowned. "That's... not like what's happening right now at all." She looked as if she wanted to say more, but sipped at her drink as if she needed to get her thoughts together. She would look up every so often, checking for any changes in my expression, and when none came after twenty minutes, she suggested we take a look around town.

We explored, window-shopping at mom-and-pop knick-knack and gift shops for hours, stopping every so often to try a local dish or take a picture for other tourists. I still had a little of Kidd's money on me, and thought about taking a look at one of the fire-juggling shows or luaus, but chose not to. Death knew how long Kidd and I's argument would last. _Maybe_, I thought, _we'll even be on bad terms until we get back home. I may have to even find a new place to stay..._

"Maka, take a look at this!" Tsubaki was pointing at a store for exotic birds. I forced a smile and decided I'd enjoy myself either way.

Later that night, I returned to our hotel room completely bushed. My feet were aching from all the walking and all I wanted to do was get in bed. I frowned while Tsubaki and I walked back to our rooms. Would Kidd be up waiting for me? Would he expect us to share a bed despite what had happened earlier? Tsubaki noticed I wasn't saying anything and smiled.

"It'll be okay. Just go in and talk to him." I returned her smile, and wished her goodnight.

When I got inside, I saw my worries were for naught. I arrived to an empty bed. I checked my surroundings, wondering if maybe Kidd had broken the rules and snuck over to Black*Star and Tsubaki's room. It was only after I'd showered and prepared for bed that I noticed Kidd's curled up form on the automan in the corner, looking rather uncomfortable. Guilt crept up my throat, but I swallowed it back down, jumped under my duvet, and tried to sleep. He'd given me the bed.

After almost an hour I drifted off, but when I awoke, I didn't feel rested at all. Thankful I'd left my board by the door so I wouldn't have to wake Kidd up by banging it around, I grabbed it, my swimsuit, and some clothes. I changed in the bathroom in the lobby and left for the beach, dead-set on teaching myself.

_It's the only way I get things done without any problems._ I thought warily. The male species only seemed to serve the purpose of making things harder for me. Soul and Black*Star would get distracted by seemingly every busty girl that passed by on our missions, and Papa couldn't even handle getting me a birthday present without slipping some of his perverted interests into my gift.

I was so deep in thought that I began to sink again. I sighed, letting myself be weighed down, but kept my thoughts shallow enough to hold onto the board to stay afloat. Content with watching the sunrise, I silently waded in the water for a while, glad about not having to think about anything at all for the moment.

"Oh my... are you okay?!" I hadn't noticed that I'd started to fall asleep until I heard a voice call out behind me.

"Hn...?" I craned my neck to see the source of the noise, and noticed a figure swimming towards me at a rapid pace. I prepared myself to explain that I was fine, but he was upon me in seconds, grabbing me around the waist.

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"I'm _so _grateful for this my love. I never thought I'd see you agai –"

"Don't. Just don't. I don't want your hands on me Deathscythe, do you understand?" Kami Smith, previously Kami Albarn was not pleased. She was on a mission, simply popping in to be briefed by an informant and going about her way when her lunatic exe-husband shows up. To make matters worse, he was accompanied by his insane doctor friend – the sadist with a penchant for "experiments", if she remembered correctly – and she was stuck between being sized up by the man she'd "stolen" her partner from and being felt up by the man she'd had the misfortune of falling in love with and getting married to.

"Spirit, stop that! My Death, Kami, I'm so sorry. We really do appreciate the help." Marie glared at Spirit, her eyes seemingly daring him to make another move. Kami sighed. At least there was somewhat of a bright side to all this – Marie was doing her best to keep Deathscythe in check while keeping Stein busy by talking with him about theories on some project of theirs. She smiled in thanks – when they were in school together, she remembered the blonde doing her very best to stick close to the scientist. She always felt bad when her affections went either un-noticed or ignored, and always thought Stein was a fool for not reciprocating the feelings of such a devoted woman.

Their conversation didn't stop the professor's judgmental eyes away from glaring in her general direction. Kami huffed.

"Do you have something you need to get something off your chest, Franken? We've got another half-hour in this line, until we get to the front and we go our separate ways, so you may as well spit it out now." The plan was to get to the front of the line so she could get her information and use her connection to book the odd group a private flight back to the states.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm simply wondering how on earth two of the most annoying people I know managed to find eachother and procreate." He scoffed. "Thank goodness your child has some spark of brilliance and potential, or else I really would consider building a machine to eject me into a slow death in space."

It took everything in her to keep her composure. "When Spirit and I first got together, my apologies were completely genuine. But the moment my daughter came into this world, every regret disappeared instantly. I can't honestly say 'I'm sorry' anymore, because I lost patience with you ages ago – you should have accepted it while the offer was extended to you." Kami scoffed and turned back to the counter-attendee who directed them to a back room. She sure showed him what-for.

Behind her, things were taking a different turn. Stein's glasses flashed – not in amusement, but annoyance. Spirit, slightly panicked, couldn't tell what was worse. He was prepared to fight for his wife's safety had the scientist attempted to exchange blows – his wife was his meister(Death excluded), and the person that made him a Deathscythe. He had an edge since he knew Marie didn't want to fight at all, and wouldn't co-operate should a battle break out. But that look in his eyes... what was he going to...?

"Oh really?" Stein prodded. "I don't think I'm the one who you should be apologizing to."

_Oh shit... _Spirit thought. _He wouldn't._ He turned to Marie and Blair who donned equally panicked expressions.

"What are you on about now?"

"N-nothing!" Marie stepped inbetween them, attempting to usher Kami in the direction of the room she was to receive her intel. "He's probably referring to the people we left back in line – it was so nice of them to give you back your spot after Spirit scared you off." This wasn't going to end well.

"No I'm not." Stein deadpanned. "I'm talking about your daughter. When was the last time you spoke to her?"

Kami's eye twitched. He'd hit a soft-spot – it was no secret that Kami didn't talk to or visit her daughter as much as she should. She had her reasons, but nothing really justifies a mother not being there for her child. She sighed, keeping her face firm. "It's... been a while. But I sent her a post-card last month. Why do you care?"

"Well that's good to know, because no one has seen hide nor hair of her in about a week."

The hallway was silent. A single tear rolled down Spirit's face. He was so screwed.

"She's _what?_" Stein grinned.

Marie rolled her eyes. They couldn't get back to the states soon enough.

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* * *

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"Mmm... ugh... w-what _happened?_"

"You were unconscious."

"... do you mind me asking _why?_"

I sighed. "Because I punched you...?"

Trying to "save" a half-asleep girl with a great right hook isn't the wisest thing to do... Okay, maybe it is for anyone else, but I didn't appreciate being man-handled by a complete stranger in the middle of a nap. While I completely understand just how dangerous falling asleep in open water can be, grabbing me by my waist and dragging me away like a sack of potatoes wasn't the answer. My sense of self-preservation kicked in, and before I knew it, I had an admittedly attractive Hawaiian guy slung over my shoulder to tend to once I got back to land.

As soon as we reached the beach, I checked his pulse. After confirming he wasn't dead, I decided to sit back and wait until he came to. He moaned, sitting up and rubbing his eye.

"But I was trying to _save _you!"

"I know, I know, and I'm very sorry about that. It was a reflex, I assure you."

"You try to punch everyone in the face that wants to save your life?!" I chuckled to myself.

"...something like that, yes. Though I have to give you kudos – a punch in the eye from Meister and you were only out for twenty minutes? That's pretty impressive."

"A punch from a _what?_" Oh shit. I backtracked, waving his question away.

"Nothing." I dusted the sand off my legs and grabbed my canvas bag. My phone read 11AM – the gang would be getting up soon, and I didn't want anyone wondering where I was. "It was nice to meet you, and I apologize for the shiner." The skin around his left eye was already beginning to darken. I remembered this year's crop of newbies I was asked to help train by Lord Death, and watching their eyes of the unlucky ones blacken and clear up over the course of a week or so. It would be a violent shade of purple by that evening.

He grabbed my wrist, and I gave him a tired stare. I'd be worried if this boy wasn't your run-of-the-mill human – I never tolerate having anyone, or any _man_ for that matter handle me in such a way, but retaliating would just create a mess to clean, and my friends and I were there for a good time, not questioning from the local police.

"Do you need something?"

"Are you seriously going to just _leave _after knocking me out like that?" He must have noticed me glancing at my wrist, and let it go warily. "I'm sorry. I'd imagine I'm making a terrible first impression."

I scoffed. "What, trying to haul me off like a sack of potatoes, then not letting me leave? Of course not."

He laughed nervously, running his hand through his curly locks. He appeared around my age, with mischevious green eyes and dark skin typical of the average Hawaiian native. His stomach was nearly as toned as a DWMA student's – something I had just begun to notice as gave an almost disarming smile.

Almost. I would have been blushing out of my mind if this guy wasn't still a complete stranger, whether he attempted to "save" me or not.

"Yeah... Well, my name is Holokai, by the way. What's yours?"

"...Maka." He may have been an unknown variable in the morning's plans, but giving my name would do no harm. "I guess I owe you some sort of an apology."

"You already said 'I'm sorry' – what more can you do?" He began to laugh, then stopped as soon as he saw me turn to leave. I'd feel bad for being so rude on any other occasion, but I wasn't in the mood for it. My mind had drifted back to Kidd since we returned to land and I knew I had no fear of sinking, and I began to wonder just what I would say to him when I got back to our room. "Wait," he called. "maybe we can grab some juice and breakfast from the bar down the street?"

I frowned, then shook my head. "You guys are all the same – I just punched your lights out, and you want a _date_?"

Panicked, he shook his head frantically. "N-no! I just..." He sighed and looked away, embarrassed. "I was kind of watching you out there before you passed out, and –"

"You were _watching_ me?!" The edges of my mouth curled into an even deeper frown. "For how long?! And by the way, I did _not _pass out - I was _sleeping._"

He raised a brow. "Who on earth goes to sleep in the middle of the ocean?" I began to walk away again. "Wait! I was only watching you because I thought your moves were cool. I mean, you almost seemed like you were moving on air..." He noticed my board behind me, and craned his neck, gasping in surprise. "Well that explains it – you have an airboard! And by the looks of it, a new one..."

I grabbed my board and pressed a small button on the bottom, watching it fold into a tiny square before tossing it in my drawstring and throwing it over my shoulder. His eyebrows were almost in his hairline, now.

"Definitely a new model. I've never seen one do that before!" He grinned. "So what's it feel like doing an Ollie on one of those?"

I eyed him warily. "It's... different. You're nowhere near as scared of falling as I'd imagine you'd be on a regular board."

He shifted himself into a cross-legged position, his grin returning. "Really? That' pretty cool! What about turning?"

"That's different too. You really have to focus on shifting _all _of you body weight – not just a little – to make it move how you want..."

Before I knew it, I'd sat down along-side him, my shoulders tiring of the defensive position I was standing in. We spoke animatedly for what may have been an hour about boarding, and different moves. Our conversation soon dipped into personal topics, as we talked about everything ranging from school(I had to leave out several details for obvious reasons) to friends to future aspirations – his dad owned an autoparts shop on the end of town, but used to be a professional surfer, making appearances on tv shows. As he got older he met Holokai's mother, and decided to settle down, leaving his dream behind, even declining the many offers he received for simply hosting competitions. His dream was to enter the big leagues like his father, but to continue to rise to the top. "As great as girls can be," he waggled his eyebrows in my general direction, and I punched his arm. "I'm not giving up my dream for _anyone_. When I die, I want to be satisfied in that I did what I love."

Soon the sun hung high overhead, and a few people began to arrive at the shore. We ducked at Frisbees, and had to move at least three times for people who wanted to set up volleyball matches. I frowned.

"This isn't really the best place to hold a conversation!" I yelled over the gleeful screams of children and caws of gulls, attracted to the food being left on the beach. Holokai laughed.

"Well, it's still early, and my offer for breakfast and juice still stands. It's quieter at the juice bar than here I bet..." He smiled shyly, and I felt one of the many walls I'd put up crumbling. Here I'd sat with a total stranger for nearly an hour and now he was talking me into what I sincerely hoped wasn't a date. I didn't want to get my hopes up for someone else... not just because of my blossoming feelings for Kidd, but it seemed like every time I got involved with a guy beyond a mission, I was disappointed.

I sighed in resignation, picked up my drawstring and started in the direction of the same bar Tsubaki and I had hit the day before. "C'mon... lets go."

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* * *

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Kami was livid, and Blair could understand why. As the small group arrived in the room where she was to receive her intel, Kami nearly broke the table her informant was sitting at as she slammed her hand down, demanding her information, and making her briefing all the more brief. She started a phone call with someone who sounded to be her boss, explaining her situation.

"I'm well aware of how important this perp is to us, but this is a family emergency..." She appeared near tears and covered her face with her free hand, massaging her temple "My daughter is missing."

Blair frowned. She'd heard a bit about Kami through stories from Maka – how strong and beautiful the woman in front her was, and thus far, her stories had proven true. What Maka didn't mention was just how remorseful the woman looked at the mention of her daughter's name. She may not have been there for her child as much as she could have, but in Blair's opinion, Kami appeared to love her child very much.

As she ended the phone call, beads of sweat made her way down her jawline and neck as her stress seemed to catch up with her. Blair and Marie quickly rushed to her side as Spirit looked on, his hands itching to find his wife's lower back and rub little circles like he used to when she was stressed for an exam. The attendant seemed rather uncomfortable, turning to Spirit to inform him that he'd return with their plane tickets and some directions to a private airline that would get them back to the States fastes. He nodded, giving a meek smile in thanks. When the young man had left, Spirit sighed, slumping down into a chair against the wall, feeling rather spent himself. First he loses his daughter, and now he can't even comfort his wife for fear of making things worse. Despite his accolades and achievements(none of which, he might not have acquired without the woman slowly breaking down across the room), he felt like the lowest man in the world. What type of father and husband couldn't even protect his family?

Meanwhile, in another corner of the small room, Stein stared at the high windows, apathetic as usual. He didn't feel the need to pardon himself as he sat up and ambled outside, hoping to find some open air to have a smoke. Spirit glared at his receeding back – if he hadn't meddled... if his ex-meister hadn't felt the need to tease and bully and sabotage, perhaps he would be with his child. Maybe, through the sheer willpower(and borderline insanity) he was known for, Spirit would have found a way into that private jet, and –

Spirit hung his head.

Meanwhile, on a fire escape a few doors down, Stein, puffing on his cigarette, stared out at the new landscape in contemplative silence. A shy-looking woman joined him shortly after stepping outside, a splash of pink accenting her face when he looked up. He regarded her with some derision. It was a Saturday morning, and he should be home, with Marie, working on some new experiment or syrum. Instead, he was in Germany, where no doubt many respectable scientists like himself lived – a few of which were colleagues of his – but he was unable to contact them beforehand to discus topics involved with their fields, and had therefore wasted time and precious, precious patience on an international flight with several crying children and his obnoxious, chatty ex-partner.

While Stein was certainly honest enough with himself to agree with Deathscythe that he was somewhat of a sadist, he didn't remain neutral and meddlesome with Spirit's attempts at finding his daughter because he didn't want him to be happy. He recalled his very first fight with his daughter and her team, and how they held their own against a master meister such as himself. He didn't even come close to giving it his all during their skirmish(not to mention the fact that he didn't have a weapon on him) but most adult technicians failed to last seconds with him with entire hordes of experienced DWMA alumni. They'd defeated a kishin and the sandy-haired student was the top of her class, and his brightest he'd seen in his entire career. She showed promise, and far exceeded his expectations, considering who her father was. It wasn't that he didn't _care _about her whereabouts... he simply believed that even if she wasn't with her friends, she'd find a way home if she was truly missing.

He sighed, deciding not to expel any of his energy trying to ward the woman off by acting rude and out of character, he did what he always did when he was frustrated.

Keeping eye-contact, he slowly turned the screw in his skull. Her face fell immediately, and lily-pink faded to alabaster white. Her eyes flitted to both sides of the screw in panic, most-likely noticing that it was, indeed, straight through his brain and out the other side. She excused herself softly in German and nearly tripped over her own feet trying to leave. The corners of his mouth turned up in a rare smile.

Maka was most-likely on a trip taken of her own volition. When the rest of their group finally calmed down enough to understand that, they'd be able to go home and leave her the hell alone.

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"Well, it's still early, and my offer for breakfast and juice still stands. It's quieter at the juice bar than here I bet..."

_Pfft. She'll never go for that..._

But I was wrong.

To my surprise, Maka picks up her bag, and walks off with this _complete stranger. _This complete, attractive, taller-than-I-am-stranger... and she did it willingly. Jealousy so strong that it made my hands shiver shot up my spine when she offered him her hand... he shouldn't be touching her. Not with his unsymmetrical curls and his equally unsymmetrical lop-sided grin.

I don't know what I expected as I walked down to the beach that morning. Part of me was hoping I'd find Maka, absent from her bed, blankets askew. I checked Tsubaki and Black*Star's room, but both confirmed that they hadn't seen her since the day before. The other half surfaced as I trudged down to the beach, annoyed. She didn't appreciate my gift, so I didn't want to find her anyway.

Of course, when I actually got there, the first thing I did was scan the shore, then farther out in the water past all the families and beach-volleyball games. I didn't expect to see her sitting so _close _to her new "friend", or even more so, seeing her leave with him. As she thought over his proposition, I willed her to tell him no... to Maka-chop him for even asking her on what could have easily been interpreted as a date, given how she'd treated me the day before. But she'd accepted.

I folded up my towel and to-go box filled with pancakes and other breakfast delights in my haste to find my friend. It wasn't until I packed up my tiny folding chair that I realized I'd unintentionally set up a steak-out nest.

As I watched the two walk away, his hand brushing hers every so often, I realized it was all for the best. I'd watching the two for the rest of the day anyway – may as well be comfortable. I needed to see what this leech's intentions were.

**:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~**

**Next Chapter: **

**Kidd shadows Maka and her new friend, and doesn't like what he sees one bit. How will he apologize when another alarmingly persistent boy is vying for her attention? In the mean time, the search is on for Kami and Spirit as they board their plane to Hawaii to search for their child.**

**I've noticed some of your concern in your reviews... I know Maka seems mean now, but I promise it's for a good reason D: She'll come around, so please don't hate her. **

**Also, sorry for the wait you guys. We've got 10 days before I start my junior year in high school, and I attend a performing arts high school... meaning I have a humungous art homework workload to fill(like any respectable high school student, I put off a fair amount of it in the late minute) and it's just as demanding as a regular academic workload, so I can't make any promises as to when I'll update next. What I CAN say is that because I'm getting into a schedule again instead of sleeping until I feel like it and hanging out with friends, I'm guessing a bi-weekly update schedule may be possible. If you have any questions(about my fics, personal life, or otherwise) please follow my tumblr, and inbox/ask box me.**

** Don't forget to leave reviews...**

**or I'll take your _soul._**


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